Sant La, Haitian Neighborhood Center, is gearing up to launch its 8th year of free tax preparation service to the community, as of Monday January 23, 2012. This free income tax service is offered through a network of Internal Revenue Service partners known as VITA (Volunteers Income Tax Assistance) sites. The VITA program is a program of the Internal Revenue Service, (IRS) that offers tax preparation to low and moderate-income individuals and families, who generally earn $49,000 and below, and cannot prepare their own tax returns. Sant La staff serve as the certified volunteer preparers. The service is completely free of charge.

Sant La’s staff are the trained volunteers who help community members with understanding and accessing special credits, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. In addition to free tax preparation assistance, Sant La also offers free electronic filing (e-filing). Individuals who take advantage of the e-file program will receive their refunds in half the time, when compared to paper-filed returns. Tax payers can even receive their refunds as fast as ten business days when deposited directly into a bank account.

Since the inception of the program in 2003, Sant La has assisted more than 7000 taxpayers and returned more than $10 million to the South Florida economy. Sant La’s VITA site serves low-income individuals and families, including the elderly, the disabled, and members of other ethnic groups who reside in Miami-Dade County. “Given the persistent unemployment associated with the Great Recession, we expect our clients to want their money immediately” said Gepsie Metellus, Executive Director of Sant La. This year, the Sant La staff will promote the EITC day, officially celebrated on January 27, throughout all major Haitian community media outlets. EITC Day is designed to bring increased awareness to tax credits for low income earners. “This is especially important this year, as many Haitians received Temporary Protective Status, (TPS) in the wake of the January 2010 earthquake, and they will be highly vulnerable to scams and predatory practices during tax season” added Metellus.

Qualified individuals will need to bring the following documents to prepare their tax return:
• Proof of identification (picture id such as driver license, passport, student id)
• Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) assignment letter for you, your spouse and dependents
• Proof of foreign status, if applying for an ITIN
• Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents listed on the tax return
• Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R
• Interest and dividend statements from banks (Form 1099)
• A copy of last year’s return if available
• Bank routing numbers and account numbers for Direct Deposit
• Total amount paid for daycare services and the daycare provider's tax identifying number
• To file taxes electronically as “married-filing-jointly”, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms
Sant La is a neighborhood resource center located in the heart of the Haitian community and provides a number of services, in particular, job search and placement; effective parenting techniques; naturalization assistance, access to safety net benefits, Low income tax-payer clinic, for all eligible community members, including those with refugee and asyleee status.

The free tax preparation service is available on Monday to Thursday, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., from January 23 to April 15, 2012. It is highly recommend that interested parties make an appointment for the tax preparation service at (305) 573-4871. Sant La’s service is backed with 100% guarantee of quality service, and the added advantage of being able to resolve all issues with the IRS, through its one-stop Low Income Tax Clinic, should the need arise.