Community Action Partnership provides free tax assistance, creates family experience for hundreds in San Bernardino

Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County generated a family experience on Saturday Jan 29, as they provided free Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) to hundreds in San Bernardino County. 

The 2020 VITA Day featured free tax assistance, a kid zone with face painting, a resource fair with free tacos and onsite childcare.

“We received a grant from Golden State Opportunity. With that grant, we hired and trained our own tax preparers. We will be providing this assistance onsite in San Bernardino until April,” said Darrell Frye, program manager at Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County.

A benefit of the program was inclusive of providing participants with tax literacy, and informing them of the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), which was introduced in the 2019 tax year.

“The VITA program has long been an important component in helping families in San Bernardino County maximize their tax credits and avoid unnecessary fees at tax time, which helps them keep more of the money they earn,” said CAPSBC President and CEO Patricia Nickols-Butler. “For our VITA DAY event, we wanted to make it easy for eligible families to access free tax assistance as well as have a fun family day.”

According to CalEITC4Me, The YCTC is a new credit that could mean up to $1,000 additional in your refund for parents with at least one child younger than age six as of Dec. 31, 2019.

“We had numerous new parents going through process for tax assistance. We also had many of them go through the resource fair where we provided them with wish lists and vouchers for strollers, toddler hygiene supplies, clothing and toys,” continued Frye.

In a time and space where the public and the world is being proactive in the mitigation of contracting the coronavirus, essential hygiene items are important to the San Bernardino community and beyond.

“It’s important to provide children with hygiene products such as diapers and wipes, because they’re the most vulnerable. Coronavirus is spreading and community events like this assist parents in being proactive to protect their children,” Frye said.

The event was a partnership between Assemblymember Eloise Gomez-Reyes, First 5 of San Bernardino, San Bernardino County Preschool Services Department, Golden State Opportunities, and the San Bernardino Rotary Club.

Appointments for Community Action Partnership tax assistance are available Monday-Friday, 9 AM – 4 PM. The organization recommends that interested participants call three days in advance to book appointment.

For more information, visit https://www.capsbc.org/ or call (909) 723-1500.