Need help filing your income taxes? Free help is available to Manatee residents

The IRS began accepting 2020 tax returns on Friday. And while the COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder to find free tax assistance, a local organization is up for the challenge.

Step Up Suncoast offers free help through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program each year. The workload is usually split between Step Up and the AARP Foundation, another organization that usually helps countless Manatee County residents each tax season.

However, according to its website, the AARP Foundation had no tax-aide locations in Manatee County as of Friday. The nearest location was Selby Library, 1331 First St. in Sarasota, where help is available through April 15.

AARP is offering appointment-only help from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Help is also available on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the AARP website.

Call 941-217-0399 for more information about the service and appointment process.

With fewer locations offered by AARP, most residents are forced to rely on Step Up Suncoast and the VITA program, which has several locations between Bradenton and Sarasota. VITA serves anyone whose annual family income is less than $66,000.

However, for those who are able, the organization is asking that people start the process from their own homes, ensuring the safety of residents and volunteers.

Virtual options

To download the necessary forms, visit stepupsuncoast.org/programs/vita-tax-prep. Both documents — Form 13614-C and Form 14446 — help to organize taxpayers’ information before they receive off-site help.

There are three options to move forward once the documents are downloaded and filled out:

• Upload the completed documents on Step Up’s website, stepupsuncoast.org/programs/vita-tax-prep.

• Fax the documents to 833-499-1886. Along with the tax forms, residents should include a cover page with their name, phone number and the number of pages being faxed.

• Place the documents in a sealed envelope and marked “Taxes.” Then, leave the envelope in a drop-box at the Step Up Suncoast office building, 6428 Parkland Drive in Sarasota.

Once the documents are received, someone from Step Up Suncoast will call the taxpayers, verify their identities and then assign an IRS-certified volunteer to each submission. Residents and volunteers can then talk by email or phone to work through the tax return.

According to the Step Up Suncoast website, several documents are needed to complete the return:

• A photocopy of the Social Security cards or ITINs for everyone on the return.

• A photocopy of the state Identification for each person on the return.

• All W-2s, 1099s and other income documents.

• Self-employed and contract labor (out of scope, losses or inventory, etc.).

• Proof of expenses if self-employed.

• Form 1095-A if you had health insurance from the state marketplace.

• Direct deposit information, including the bank name and the account and routing number.

• A 2019 tax return.

If applicable, taxpayers will also need:

• Form 1098 (mortgage interest, property taxes).

• Form 1098-T or 1098-E.

• Name, address and tax ID or Social Security.

• The number of any child care provider.

Regardless of how someone started the process, all residents will finish by visiting an in-person location to pick up a copy of their tax return and to have the return e-filed.

Walk-in location

For those who are unable to complete and send the initial documents from home, Step Up Suncoast and Bayside Community Church are offering several walk-in sites.

The locations are only to get the taxpayer started before a volunteer is assigned and the return is completed off-site. Each location will offer the necessary IRS forms, conduct a brief interview and then scan the documents, while the actual tax preparation will be virtual.

There are two appointment-only sites:

• Bayside Community Church (East Bradenton Campus), which operates every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., not including March 2. This site is expected to run through April 13.

• Bradenton Dream Center, which operates every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. through April 8.

To make an appointment, visit the church’s website at events.mybayside.church.

There are also three locations that operate on a first come, first served basis:

• Step Up Suncoast, 6428 Parkland Drive in Sarasota. The site operates every Monday and Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• The Goodwill at 8750 State Road 70 E. in Bradenton. The site operates every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon.
• The 13th Avenue Dream Center, 922 24th St. E. in Bradenton. The site operates every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information, email taxes@stepupsuncoast.org or call 941-300-2256. Email responses may be faster as Step Up Suncoast navigates an unusual tax season and increased phone calls.

This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 1:51 PM.