NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – New Hanover County is seeking volunteers for two programs to assist residents with their 2023 tax filing.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) and AARP Tax Aide program are seeking adult volunteers to assist individuals and families electronically file their simple federal and North Carolina state tax returns.
“Every year, we work with some amazing volunteers who serve our community by helping local residents navigate the tax filing process,” said Senior Resource Center Director Amber Smith. “We are very fortunate to have these services in New Hanover County, but in order to succeed, we recruit and rely on volunteers who are willing to help residents with low to moderate incomes file their tax returns.”
The VITA program will host two tax preparation locations – the New Hanover County Senior Resource Center (2222 S. College Rd, Wilmington) and the Katie B. Hines Senior Center (300 Cape Fear Blvd, Carolina Beach). The AARP Tax Aide program will be available at the New Hanover County Downtown Library (201 Chestnut Street, Wilmington).
Each program is seeking volunteers who are willing to work at least four hours a week from late January or early February until April 15 as intake specialists or tax preparers. Intake specialists meet and screen potential clients to determine their eligibility for this service. Please note that no tax preparation is done by intake volunteers.
Volunteer tax preparers receive IRS-approved training and IRS certification. This training starts in December with self-study work before transitioning to classroom and computer training in January. Training concludes with exercises that focus on preparing sample returns on IRS-provided software.
For information on how you can volunteer, contact Becky Doherty with the VITA program at 910-798-6406 or bdoherty@nhcgov.com. You can also contact Bonnie Nelson with AARP Tax Aide located at the Downtown Library by calling 910-742-0814.