In terms of total refunds we have already returned $1,341,160 in total refunds.  Over a million dollars in total refunds is from federal refunds from EBALDC’s Asian Resource Center (ARC) alone.  The SparkPoint Center (SPOC) site has returned over a quarter million dollars in total refunds by themselves.  We are hoping to return another $160,000 in total refunds in the next 16 days that breaks down to about $10,000 a day.

Thank-you for joining us on the journey.

VITA interview part 1

VITA interview part 2

VITA Interview #2

127 from SparkPoint Oakland (SPOC)

662 from the Asian Resource Center (ARC)

20 from Beehive

Total refunds so far: $1,288,598

$247,304 from SPOC

$1,011,294 from ARC

$30,000 from Beehive

Total Federal Refunds so far: almost $1,200,000

Total State Refunds so far: almost $60.000

Total Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): $527,764

$115,672 from SPOC

$444,634 from ARC

$12,092 from Beehive

 Average Total refunds so far: Over $1,500  

The IRS on the other hand, is all about abbreviations.  Have business expenses?  You’ll need to fill out a Sch C-EZ along with your 1040, and you’ll probably need a Sch A, too.  Don’t forget the 13614-C, and let me know if you need help with your W-9.  Did you receive an ERP with your SSI in 2009?  Let’s make sure we get you some EIC and maybe the CTC.

When one deals daily with the IRS, and contends with technical issues that inevitably arise from using sensitive software, and coordinates 20 volunteers (who speak three or four different languages with clients) it’s easy to get lost in this sea of numbers and arcane acronyms.  The tax season exerts stresses on everybody involved, and focusing on the numeric formalities can help preparers keep their sanity through the long slog of tax season.

But once or twice during the season, everybody hits an epiphany moment when he or she realizes that the numbers and acronyms are in-and-of-themselves meaningless, that doing taxes isn’t about working late nights or coordinating volunteers, that there is far more to it than that.  For me, this moment came a few weeks ago when I filed a tax return for a single mom and we found that her refund would be over $8,000.  With three children and yearly earnings from worked totaling $20,000, this return increased her annual income by almost 50%– and we were able to do it in about half an hour.  In that moment, she and I were not client and tax preparer, we were friends and confidants as we talked about the most prudent way for her to use this windfall (an IDA savings account would make sense).  And as we talked, I sensed in her demeanor and voice an ease and relief that people struggling to make ends meet rarely exhibit.  Getting this money let her know that although things had been difficult, there was help for her and things could be better.  It gave her hope.

In those moments, everyone involved sees with simple clarity that taxes is not about numbers or paperwork, long nights or stressful administration, it’s about helping one another find hope and stability during uncertain times.  In short, doing taxes is all about people.

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This entry was written by Leonardo Covis.  This is his second year with EBALDC, he started last year as a LISC Americorps member.  He has continued working with us coordinating our programs at the SparkPoint Center, our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, our Money Savvy Youth Program, and the Senior Consumer Education Programs.

VITA Client Interview

VITA on Saturday with Youth Translators and Volunteers

Returning Volunteer: Bill Lau

When I came to the US, I was very poor.  With the help of others and much struggle, I made a comfortable living.  I have always wanted to repay those that helped me by helping others in need.  So, when our church needed someone to help with the English class for new immigrants, I answered the call. I have been with the group for about ten years now. Last year, a friend from church asked me if I would be able to help with translation for people in Chinatown to file taxes with EBALDC’s VITA program.  Since I speak the language and have the time, I volunteered.  Since I had worked for HR Block before, they asked me if I would get my certification and help with the tax preparation.  So, I did and  I am glad that I am able to help others.  I feel that being a Christian is not only concerned with others’ spiritual needs but also their physical needs.  I need to have a balance of both and I am glad to do both.  So, I am back again this year.

I just came back from Thailand.  I went with our church group to provide services to the missionaries that we support. We had a great time there getting to know the missionaries.  Their lives also inspired me to continue to help others.  I am pleased to be able to return and help prepare taxes and help with translation for EBALDC’s VITA program again this year.

I am proud to announce that we have hit our halfway point for completed number of returns!  Our goal for this year is to prepare 1,000 tax returns, so far we are just past 500 returns.  

86 from SparkPoint Oakland (SPOC)  

420 from the Asian Resource Center (ARC)  

Over 15 from Beehive  

Total refunds so far: Over $928,000  

$208,751 from SPOC  

$712,422 from ARC  

$30,000 from Beehive  

Total Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Over $435,000
 

$106,036 from SPOC  

$321,395 from ARC  

$12,092 from Beehive  

We partnered with the Walmart Foundation, Beehive, the United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA), the National Disabilities Institute to host a free tax preparation service where clients could prepare their own taxes under the supervision of our IRS certified volunteers.  More pictures are on the way from our exciting press conference with Oakland Council woman Patricia Kernighan.  

We also have been very fortunate to receive several youth translators through a partnership with the United Way of the Bay Area, Matchbridge, and Premier Staffing.  The youth have enabled us to accomplish our goals and have played a vital role in our success.  We feel very fortunate to work together to provide youth with work experience and benefit from their skills, it has been a mutually beneficial partnership for everyone involved. 

Here’s a sneak peak of our tax preparation with Beehive from Tuesday afternoon:  

And as we were running Beehive, we began to set-up:  

This is what our typical Tuesday afternoon looks like before we begin tax preparation, then it starts to look like this:  

And on a busy night it ends up looking like this:  

Luckily, however, the first person I helped was a fun guy who just wanted to get some money back. The whole process was really smooth and I felt really great afterward because I just helped him get about a thousand dollars’ worth of refund.

That, however, wasn’t the most exciting part of the day. Just right before the day ended, another guy came in for some help. He lives with his sister who has been supporting. He read the tax tips booklet we have and asked me if he could file as the head of the household, which generally will give single taxpayers a greater refund. He told me that he didn’t know about that until he just read about it in the booklet. I wanted him to qualify for head of  household, but I was also afraid that I might make a mistake. So I checked it again and again and even asked Will to double check it for me. In the end, we determined that he was able to claim the head of household status. At that moment, I was just so excited and happy for him as if I was the one getting the extra refund.

It was just such an experience that I would never forget.

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This entry was written by  Huapeng Qi, one of our volunteer income tax preparers, discussing his first time preparing taxes for a client after passing his Internal Revenue Service certification test discussing his excitement and fear that he overcame while preparing income tax returns for our clients.

Huapeng is a current undergraduate student at the University of California, Cal Berkeley.  He is bilingual in Chinese and English, and also a member of our Cal Corps coalition efforts with the Cal Berkeley Public Service Center.  We are very happy to have him working with us and he has provided excellent service to our clients.

• More than 50 people
• $154,516 in federal refunds
• $81,296 from Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• $10,901 in state refunds

Since opening at the Asian Resource Center (ARC) on Tuesday January 26th, 2010 we have served and provided:

• More than 250 people
• $456,797 in Federal refunds
• $221,062 in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Total numbers:

• Over 300 people
• Over $600,000 in total refunds
• Over $300,000 from Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Our average numbers:

• Over $2,000 in federal returns
• Over $1,000 in EITC.

As we enter into the lunar New Year of the Tiger we hope to complete our goal of reaching $1,000,000 in total refunds to our clients.

None of this would be possible without the dedication of our volunteers who persevered to study and pass IRS certification tests, learn the TaxWise software, preparing intake forms, and have spent hours translating and preparing income tax returns.  Last Saturday alone we prepared over 40 returns and had over 10 volunteers assist us from 10am-6pm.  We have already had assistance from over 30 volunteers and are hoping to have at least 50 volunteers involved during the tax season.   Please join us in making our dreams realities.

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