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VITA - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program

Free Tax Help
February 1 - April 15, 2010

During the 2009 tax season, the Santa Barbara Housing Authority’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program helped a record number of people with refunds.

Trained VITA volunteers helped more than 1,000 people with their tax returns – with over $1,000,000 in refunds coming back to taxpayers!

FREE TAX PREPARATION AND FILING (VITA / TCE / AARP SITE LISTING)*
To qualify, annual income must be $49,000 or less.

Housing Authority VITA Locations, Schedule and Contact Info:


English (PDF)

List of North and South Santa Barbara County VITA sites (PDF)
(THROUGH APRIL 15, 2010 except where noted)

Source: IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication  (SPEC), updated 2/3/2010
*VITA = Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program,  TCE =Tax Counseling for the Elderly

The VITA program offers free tax preparation and filing assistance to Housing Authority residents and to all eligible members of the community (eligibility is based on household income).  

VITA was created to aid those with low and limited incomes, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and non-English speaking residents and taxpayers. 

The Housing Authority’s VITA Income Tax Preparation Centers are a collaborative effort—the Housing Authority provides the supervision, staff, locations, internet access, materials and supplies for the tax centers and the Internal Revenue Service provides the training for volunteers, software and technical support.

Trained volunteers from local non-profits, businesses and the community at large, assist the Department of Resident Services staff in helping participants with basic tax returns.  There is no charge for this service.

Thank you to the organizations that help us to serve an increasing number of people each through VITA each year!

For more information about training to become a VITA volunteer, contact the Department of Resident Services.