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United Way of Central Indiana Seeks Volunteer Tax Preparers Last year more than 6,800 people were served through free tax preparation service INDIANAPOLIS – United Way of Central Indiana is searching for volunteers to become tax preparers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). The program offers online and in-person tax filing services in Marion, Hendricks, Hancock, Morgan and Boone Counties for taxpayers who earned $66,000 or less in 2018. Qualified volunteers must possess strong computer skills, attention to detail, customer service skills and the ability to understand and answer questions about the tax preparation process and individual tax situations. All volunteers will receive training and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) certification. The following volunteer opportunities are available: • Tax Preparer: Prepares tax returns based on certification level obtained through the IRS training modules. VITA will provide the resources and materials needed to complete both online and in-person training. The online portion of the training can be completed at the volunteer’s pace, and several “classroom” training sessions will be held in the fall and winter. • Greeter: Greets clients as they arrive and ensures that clients have all required documents. Greeters will need to complete a brief online IRS ethics training. “Earlier this year, sixteen certified volunteers served 115 Boone County residents saving them over $28,750 in tax prep fees,” said Amy Hammerle, UWCI Area Northwest Volunteer Engagement Coordinator. “Our goal is to assist even more families in 2019.” A volunteer information session will be held on November 13 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2625 Elm Swamp Road, Lebanon. To rsvp for the meeting or for more information on how to volunteer for the VITA program, contact Amy Hammerle at 765-483-0165. The purpose of the VITA program is to make tax preparation accessible and affordable to low-income families. Last tax season, VITA volunteers helped return more than $10 million in refunds to more than 6,800 people in the central Indiana community. Taxpayers also saved $1.7 million in tax preparation fees through the VITA program. To learn more and sign up to become a volunteer visit, indyfreetaxprep.com.