DURHAM, N.C. — The April 18 deadline for tax filing is fast approaching, but there is still time to get some help for free if you need it. 

Whether you file your own taxes or hire someone to do them, it can be a hassle, at times costing people hundreds of dollars.

What You Need To Know

  • The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax preparation services

  • To qualify, people must make $58,000 or less a year, have a disability or have limited English-speaking ability

  • To find a VITA office near you, click here

  • The deadline to file your taxes is Monday, April 18

There’s assistance for those who qualify, thanks to a nationwide program that helps people get their taxes done for free.

VITA is the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. It’s been around for over 50 years and offers assistance in preparing tax returns.

Generally, the qualifications are for folks who make $58,000 or less a year, people with disabilities and taxpayers whose English is limited.

Cara Williams is a statewide coordinator for Reinvestment Partners Taxpayer Assistance Center, which is part of a coalition of VITA providers in North Carolina.

“The income requirement is not as stringent as per the IRS, as long as what’s in their tax returns falls under the guidelines,” Williams explained. “Now the organizations that run these VITA programs have their own focuses and mandates. Because they’re doing it for free, they have certain income limits they like to adhere to.”

Williams says their volunteer tax preparers are from all walks of life; some are new to filing taxes and others are CPAs.

“Each year we take our volunteers through a rigorous program to train them how to do taxes. As an additional safeguard, the IRS requires that each tax return go through at least two people before we give it back to the consumer.”

Williams is a quality reviewer for VITA.

The IRS has a VITA locator tool on its website, which allows you to put in your ZIP code. All the VITA sites that are open and approved by the IRS will show up in a list. Another resource to track down local VITA sites is the NC Taxpayer Assistance Center.

For a list of what you need to bring to your local VITA site, click here.