San Antonio expands eligibility for free income tax assistance

The San Antonio Coalition for Family Economic Progress has officially launched this year's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program with some significant changes.

Normally open to families earning less than $40,000 a year, this year's VITA program is providing free tax preparation help for families earning up to $45,000.

By raising the income cap, the coalition plans to make income tax filing assistance available to more San Antonio families.

In addition to the eligibility cap, the coalition has also recruited more volunteers for the program and brought H.E. Butt Grocery Co. (H-E-B) on board as a partner.

The local grocer is offering space for tax assistance at its H-E-B El Mercado store on 2130 Culebra Road, the H-E-B Plus! at 6818 S. Zarzamora, the H-E-B at 1015 S. WW White Road and the H-E-B at 2534 S. New Braunfels.

"Our goal is to put money back into the pockets of our working families and individuals," says Dennis Campa, director of the Department of Community Initiatives. "We also want to be easily accessible and convenient, so partnering with H-E-B was a perfect fit."

VITA volunteers help taxpayers take advantage of all the tax credits for which they are eligible, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. Organizers say San Antonio families leave an estimated $86 million each year unclaimed because they don't properly claim these tax credits.

Last year, volunteers prepared more than 35,000 returns, a 12 percent increase from the number of returns completed last year. Volunteers also helped families receive more than $52 million in tax refunds.

The San Antonio Coalition for Family Economic Progress consists of the City of San Antonio, the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, the Internal Revenue Service, ACORN, Catholic Charities, Frost Bank, Bank of America, Broadway Bank, H-E-B, City Employees Federal Credit Union and the AT&T Foundation.

The AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic organization of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), also is contributing $50,000 to Catholic Charities this year to support marketing efforts.

"The VITA program has been such a tremendous success in San Antonio, and this additional support will make a difference as we begin the 2008 tax season," says Lourdes Galvan, San Antonio mayor pro tem. "We hope that the additional marketing in the community will encourage more people to take advantage of these services."