For people who earned up to $56,000, free tax prep is available – and might mean a refund.

Crying over taxes isn’t unusual. Crying tears of joy over taxes?

Totally different story.

But it’s one that United Way Monterey County CEO Katy Castagna shares as an example of why, no matter how little you may have earned last year, you should file taxes using the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) service, administered locally by United Way. If you make under $56,000, regardless of whether your work is full-time, part-time, seasonal or “up and down,” Castagna says, you can avail yourself of the program.

So it was that one young mom came in, having only earned $6,000 in 2019. “She wasn’t even going to bother filing,” Castagna says. But with a combination of the state’s young child tax credit and the state earned income tax credit, she received a $6,000 refund.

Another woman “just burst into tears” upon finding her refund would be $10,000.

The state’s earned income tax credit, which was created in 2015 (with 2016 the first year people could claim it on their tax returns) “is really incentivizing people to work,” Castagna adds. “It’s a game-changer. The current average amount of a return is about $1,500 to $2,000, and for many people it’s the biggest check of the year. Even if you’re super-low income, there’s money you can receive.”

The VITA service dispatches 111 trained volunteer tax preparers to various locations throughout Monterey County, including Soledad and Castroville. So far this year, the service has helped 781 people who will receive a combined total of $1.6 million in tax returns. In addition to walk-in service, at which a client can sit with a tax preparer as their tax return is completed, VITA includes a drop-off service in Salinas; there, people can leave their paperwork and come back at a later time for their completed return.

To find a VITA location near you or file your income taxes online, visit unitedwaymcca.org/freetaxprep