United Way of Greater Newark and Newark Asset Building Coalition to Offer Free Contactless Tax-Filing Services to Support Low-and Moderate-Income Individuals

GetYourRefund initiative enables UWGN and other NABC partners to offer free tax-filing services, helping low- and moderate-income individuals and families navigate tricky pandemic tax-filing season

(Newark, NJ) January 28, 2021 – Today, Catherine Wilson, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Newark (UWGN), announced that UWGN will provide free digital and in-person tax-filing services to support low-and moderate-income individuals and families for the 2020 tax season. Through the online platform, GetYourRefund, as well as five in-person drop-off locations around greater Newark, UWGN and Newark Asset Building Coalition (NABC) partners will offer contactless Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), an IRS-sponsored program that provides free certified tax preparation assistance, for New Jersey residents from February 1^st – April 15^th.

The NABC is a coalition focused on promoting financial independence and stability to local residents and will provide these VITA services at community sites across Newark for the fourth year in a row. The Newark Free Tax Prep initiative will provide tax-filers with access to IRS-certified VITA tax professionals, ensuring the same quality review process so filers can receive maximum returns this tax season. UWGN will also offer phone consultations to all online GetYourRefund filers during the intake process to provide confidential one-on-one support. Code for America launched GetYourRefund as an innovative pilot program and selected UWGN as one of its national partners to continue offering free tax-filing services and helping families access tax credits and Economic Impact Payments during the pandemic.

“Last year was an especially challenging financial year for many families, which will make filing taxes this year particularly tricky. For that reason, we are excited to continue offering our vital tax-filing services for free, both in-person and digitally,” said Wilson. “We know tax-filing provides residents with critical tax credits and are proud to be able to offer these services to our community members once again.”

Program and marketing support has been made possible by Citi and The Prudential Foundation.

“Free tax preparation services and tax credits like the EITC are critical tools that can help eligible workers strengthen their financial stability,” said Gregory Schiefelbein, Citi Community Relations New York Tri-State Market Leader. “Through Citi’s collaboration with the Newark Asset Building Coalition and the Citi Foundation’s partnership with Code for America, we are helping to promote and expand access to free, high-quality tax preparation and other essential resources to empower eligible Newark residents to make the most of tax season.”

“At Prudential, we believe financial security should be within reach for everyone and we are committed to help close the financial divide. Access to programs like free tax prep are critical now more than ever. Prudential is a proud supporter and member of the Newark Asset Building Coalition to help accelerate economic mobility for Newarkers,” said Samuel Diaz, Associate Manger in Inclusive Solutions at Prudential Financial.

In the 2019 tax year, VITA tax clients served by the NABC received tax returns of over $12 million, of which over $4.5 million was through the Earned Income Tax Credit. Individuals who are interested in using these services can complete and securely upload their tax documents. Then, applicants will be connected with a VITA team member who will remotely prepare, review, and file tax returns with the taxpayers’ consent. Those who prefer contactless services offered by local community organizations can drop off their tax documents to several sites around Greater Newark.

For more information about the NABC services and drop-off locations, visit: http://www.nabcnj.org/newark-free-tax-prep/.

To file your taxes through GetYourRefund, visit: www.getyourrefund.org/UWGN.

If you’d like to learn more about UWGN’s tax-filing services, see more information here (English) or here (Spanish) or about the drop-off process, see here (English) or here (Spanish).

About United Way of Greater Newark

United Way of Greater Newark’s (UWGN) mission is to disrupt the cycle of poverty by convening, collaborating and investing in strategies to improve outcomes for children and families. UWGN has a long history of convening disaster funds in the community, including having established the 9/11 fund, the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund and, most recently, the Newark Water Fund. In order to continue providing support to the community and its non-profit partners during the COVID-19 crisis, UWGN has established the Community COVID-19 Fund. This is a regional fund serving its 13-municipality footprint including Newark, Irvington, East Orange, West Orange, South Orange, Orange, Belleville, Nutley, Maplewood, Kearny, Harrison, East Newark and North Arlington.

For more information about United Way of Greater Newark, please visit UWGreaterNewark.org. Follow us on Twitter: @UWGreaterNewark and #LiveUnited.