Free tax preparation for eligible families

Published on January 21, 2020

Looking for help maximizing your tax refund?

For the fourth year, Placer County Health and Human Services will provide free tax assistance to eligible individuals and families, in cooperation with the IRS and United Way, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

VITA helps wage earners with the highest need receive their earned income tax credit, a refundable federal and state income tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families.

Last year, VITA filings netted Placer County residents close to $650,000 back in returns.

“We’ve been excited to watch the program’s success grow with the help of volunteers and partners like Sierra College,” said Human Services Director Amanda Sharp. “We hope this is our biggest year yet for putting money back in the pockets of Placer residents.”

Free tax preparation assistance by trained volunteers will be available to qualifying individuals and families who earned $60,000 or less in 2019. Free online tax assistance is also available for individuals and families who earned less than $66,000 or less in 2019 at myfreetaxes.com.

The VITA program will run at these county locations:

Placer County Human Services

1000 Sunset Boulevard

Rocklin, CA 95765

Open Tuesday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jan. 28 - March 27

Placer County Human Services

1919 Grass Valley Highway Ste. 190 

Auburn, CA 95603

Open Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jan. 30 - March 26

For those unable to attend, the AARP runs a similar program in other locations throughout the county, including another location in Auburn and in North Lake Tahoe. To learn more, visit their website here. Sierra College will also offer tax preparation on Saturdays between March 7 and April 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 5100 Sierra College Blvd. in Rocklin. 

Visit yourlocalunitedway.org/vita to see available dates (starting in January and running through March) and make an appointment starting Jan. 21 by calling 800-500-4931.