Helping families work toward financial stability by providing free tax assistance.
United Way’s Tax Assistance Program offers free in-person tax preparation for families and individuals with income of $67,000 or less. Tax prep sites are located throughout the Greater Richmond and Petersburg region. Our work is made possible with the support of the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Grant and Virginia Community Action Partnership.
Tax Help Still Available
We have two options available for post-season tax help. Choose the option that works best for you!
Virtual Tax Help
If you have access to and are comfortable with technology from a computer or smartphone, we also offer a virtual Tax Assistance Program online for tax filing assistance. Our program offers a 100% online tax preparation from the comfort and security of home. This service requires that filers have access to the internet and a camera through a smart phone or a tablet.
Virtual tax service remains open until September 15, 2025.
In-Person Tax Help
In-person appointments available. This is a two-part process. During the first appointment bring in your tax documents and ID information and conduct an interview. The second appointment will finalize the tax return and file. This process will take approximately one week. Call 804-225-7917 to register.
In-person tax service remains open until September 1, 2025.
Virtual Tax Assistance Program is run through GetYourRefund. This service opens February 3, 2025. GetYourRefund is a non-profit service built by Code for America in partnership with IRS-certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites nationally. Code for America is a non-profit technology organization dedicated to making government work for the people that need it most. This portal meets all IRS security standards and your information will be as secure as if you were visiting one of our in-person tax sites.
- All Virginia Residents can go to GetYourRefund to opt in to the service.
- Answer questions. We’ll ask you to verify your identity as well as a series of questions about your finances.
- Submit documents. Share all necessary documents (ID, W-2’s, 1099, 1095-A,B,C).
- Phone review. We will review everything with you over the phone.
- Get your refund. If you choose to file your taxes, our tax volunteers will help you e-file.
This program is available to any taxpayer:
- With a valid email address and phone number.
- With an income below $67,000.
- With a current SSN or ITIN.
- Please note that all customers are required to provide us with a valid government-issued ID for each taxpayer, social security card/ITIN paperwork for all individuals listed on the tax return, and all tax documents.
OUT-OF-SCOPE for VITA – We DO NOT prepare the following types of returns or forms:
- Returns for those receiving rental income (landlords)
- Partnership or corporate returns
- Returns with farm or fishing income
- Schedule C (sole proprietor business) with losses or employees or inventory or any claim for actual vehicle expenses (vs. standard mileage rate) or expenses over $35,000
- Complicated and advanced Schedule D (capital gains and losses) including transactions using Bitcoin or other virtual currencies or any assets other than stock, mutual funds, or a personal residence
- Returns for taxpayers who are in the U.S. on an F, J, M, or Q visa
- Self-employed health coverage deductions for the premium tax credit
- Returns involving alimony/divorce agreements executed before 1985
- Tax returns for ministers and members of the clergy because of unique tax issues
- Form W-2 with code Q in box 12, indicating combat pay – Military certification requires; only certain sites have volunteers certified for Military returns – contact us
- Energy credits – Form 5695 Part 1 (out-of-scope)
- Form SS-5 (request for Social Security Number)
- Form 8606 (non-deductible IRA)
- Form 8615 (minor’s investment income)
- Form SS-8 (determination of worker status for purposes of federal employement taxes and income tax withholding)
- Certain types of pensions and annuity payments (Box 7 codes 5, 6, 8, 9, A, E, J, K, N, P, R, T, U, W)
Filers with a household income of $84,000 or less are eligible. File your taxes for free online. MyFreeTaxes allows people to file their federal and state taxes for free, and it’s brought to you by United Way. It takes most filers an hour or less to file from the comfort of their own home or wherever you have internet access. Click here to get started!
Become a United Way Tax Assistance Program Volunteer
No prior knowledge or experience is necessary to become a United Way Tax Assistance Program volunteer. We have several roles available to match a variety of skills and interests. Watch a video created by the Get It Back Campaign to show you what being a volunteer will be like.
United Way’s Tax Assistance Program is looking for volunteers to support select in-person tax sites as well as a virtual tax assistance service. Individuals are asked to serve one volunteer shift per week when the season opens in late January 2025.
$3.2 Million in total federal refunds for families in our region – 2025 Tax Season Results
From over 3,358 returns filed
“They had people that were there to assist me – fill out any documents I needed to fill out, all I had to do was sign them. That meant a lot to me because it felt like I was being accommodated.”
Ms. Randall, United Way Tax Assistance Program client since 2016
Ms. Randall had one of the 2,810 tax returns that the United Way Tax Assistance Program helped file in 2022.
Have questions or running into problems?
We welcome any questions you may have. Please reach out for assistance at any time.