Perhaps they haven’t arrived yet, but they will soon: the steady stream of mailed forms needed to fill out annual tax returns. Henry Savage, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, reported that assistance with this annual, complex chore is not only close (Temple Ambler) it’s also free.

Temple Ambler has been using its students and faculty to prepare local returns for the past 15 years through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

VITA services save what Toronto accounting firm FreshBooks identifies as a task taking an average filer a whopping 11 hours to complete.

Temple’s free help, however, comes with some parameters:

• VITA can accommodate only filers who made less than $57,414 last year
• Help is onsite at 580 Meetinghouse Road only on Sat. afternoons, Feb. 8 to Apr. 15
• Appointments are required, made by email (Temple Ambler) or phone (215-326-9519)

“Year after year we do this program, and it’s always one of the annual highlights on my calendar. It’s important that all families are able to receive the money that is owed to them, and that is where this program can make such a big difference,” said Steve Balsam, accounting professor and VITA coordinator.

Free tax-preparation services in addition to those supplied by Temple Ambler are listed in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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More thoughts on the self- vs. hired-options for income tax filings.