Tax filers who qualify for free tax prep may not be able to get in-person help this filing season because of pandemic restrictions.
Still, that might actually make it handier than in years past.
The Connecticut Association for Human Services will offer virtual volunteer income tax assistance, so filers won’t have to wait somewhere to be called in to get their taxes done.
Takima Robinson, director of asset building programs for CAHS, explained the process, which she said starts with the submission of an intake form and tax documents.
“They will be contacted by a preparer to go over the documents that they have submitted, and then the preparer will complete their taxes. And then, one of our quality reviewers, who is also a certified and trained IRS volunteer, will contact that person to review their tax return with them, get their permission to send it off to the IRS, and they will sign it through DocuSign,” Robinson said.
CAHS hopes going virtual entices more people to volunteer for the tax prep program.
“This also gives us the opportunity to recruit more volunteers because volunteers are doing these tax returns in the comfort of their own home, and then it also gives us the opportunity to expand our services to reach more people,” Robinson said.
She said filers shouldn’t worry about any potential data breach because the encrypted platform CAHS uses is secure.
