The United Way of Broome County and the Broome County Department of Social Services are announcing the return of over a million dollars in federal and state income tax refunds this year by users of a free tax preparation service.

The refunds come from tax returns filed by residents with help from the free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or “VITA” tax preparation program.

iStock photo
iStock photo
loading...

The VITA program provides free tax preparation for low to mid-income households in the region and pays special attention to tax credits that often go overlooked.

Trained tax preparers include students from SUNY Broome and Binghamton University.

According to a news release from the United Way, over 600 households took advantage of the VITA preparers' skills.

WNBF News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM logo
Get our free mobile app

In total $1,087,781 in refunds were processed.

In addition to the amount of money returned, taxpayers using the free service saved around $182,700 in what would have been spent in paying for tax preparation services.

The VITA tax preparers were recognized at an event at the United Way of Broome County on April 23.

LOOK: Here are the best small towns to live in across America

Add These To Your Southern Tier Bucket List

More From WNBF News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM