As thousands of area seniors and working families pinch every penny possible to survive in the current affordability crisis, United Way Suncoast is carrying out a free service during tax season that can help put money back into their pockets.
Through mid-April, the VITA – or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance – program provides free tax preparation services by IRS-certified volunteers for filers in UWS’s five-county region earning $96,000 or less.
Appointments are required for the tax preparation sessions – which are being held at the sites listed below – and can be made by calling 833-897-8482 or by visiting the UWS website and clicking on the appropriate county button on the middle of the page.
In addition to the service saving Florida filers on average $240, VITA also ensures that the taxes are filed correctly, said Nichole Peña-Miller, UWS’s senior director of financial security.
A nationwide program that involves partnerships between the IRS and community organizations, VITA is also a chance for filers to learn more about the process of what’s happening with their money so they can make more informed decisions on things such as deductions or withholdings.
“We want to educate taxpayers as to why they’re getting a refund and why they owe,” Peña-Miller said.
But perhaps most importantly are the substantial credits that many households are owed – and yet are failing to claim.
In 2025, for example, 18% of individuals in Florida who were eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit did not claim it, Peña-Miller said.
In the UWS five-county region – including Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Pinellas and Hillsborough – that amounted to $135 million left on the table.
In Florida, it totaled $1.1 billion.
“So roughly one in five who is eligible for a credit doesn’t claim it,” Peña-Miller said.
“They are leaving money behind.”
And with so much hardship facing families and retirees amid high rents, homeowners’ insurance, medical bills and soaring costs of food, they could use that money now more than ever.
Indeed, the 10,000 filers served by UWS and VITA every tax season are among the ALICE households that the organization seeks to help year round – seniors, parents, working individuals living paycheck to paycheck, Peña-Miller said.
For instance, according to UWS’s latest ALICE report – the initials in ALICE stand for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” – the survival budget for a family of four in Sarasota County was $104,424.
Meanwhile, the median income in Sarasota County was $77,705.
In Manatee County, it was $95,000 with a median income of $79,524.
Many of those struggling households are more reliant than ever on their tax refund, Peña-Miller said.
Eighty percent of those getting refunds report using it for basic expenses – a car repair, summer childcare or to tackle delinquencies with rent or utilities.
Others need it to set aside for important upcoming expenses, such as back-to-school clothes and supplies for their kids.
“When they’re coming to the site, they want to know immediately how much that refund is and when is it going to hit (their) bank account,” Peña-Miller said. “They have plans for it.”
Below is a list of local VITA locations where filers can have appointments by calling 833-897-8482 or by visiting the UWS website and clicking on the appropriate county button on the middle of the page.
Sarasota County locations
Manatee County locations
Desoto County locations
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: United Way tax prep help reaches households amid affordability crisis
Reporting by Saundra Amrhein, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
