4/14/20
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. —Two MCLA accounting professors and their students will again be preparing tax returns for local low-income residents—this time, virtually—through Habitat for Humanity’s VITA program.
MCLA’s new virtual VITA location, approved by the IRS, will be working through the end of April 2020 preparing eligible taxpayers’ returns and helping ensure Berkshire County residents receive their Coronavirus stimulus payment from the federal government. Individual taxpayers may be eligible for a $1,200 stimulus payment; married taxpayers filing jointly may be eligible for a $2,400 stimulus. In addition, taxpayers are eligible for an additional $500 per qualifying child. Taxpayers who are not ordinarily required to file taxes and do not receive social security may need to file a zero return.
Residents can email vita@mcla.edu or call 413-662-5507 to determine if they qualify and begin the process. Spanish translation is available thanks to Bielka Reinoso ’19, who worked on the VITA Program as an MCLA student and has agreed to help with this year’s program as well. Abigail Dumo ’20, a second-year VITA volunteer, will be providing translation in Tagalog for those who need it.
Students will be preparing returns under the guidance of accounting professors Tara Barboza, CPA, and Adam Rice, EA, who will file electronically on behalf of their VITA clients. The deadline to file a federal tax return has been extended to July 15, 2020, and MCLA’s virtual VITA site will operate through April 2020.
More information on the federal COVID-19 economic stimulus is available at IRS.gov.
