Clients of the Social Development Commission’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program will get assistance from the IRS after the quasi-governmental community action agency abruptly shut down last week.
William Sulton, an attorney who represents the Social Development Commission, said the IRS will help the agency provide assistance and communicate with clients concerning their tax returns.
Here is what you need to know
The IRS will reach out to schedule appointments with clients at The Sulton Law Firm office, 2745 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, likely starting in two weeks, he said.
“We believe we’ll be able to do this in a timely fashion, and we really do appreciate all of the help from the regional office of the IRS,” Sulton said.
Diane Robinson, SDC’s manager of the free tax prep VITA program, expressed a commitment to follow through on the remaining tax returns in light of the agency’s closing.
Sulton estimates about 800 clients have been affected.
“There were some folks for which SDC needed to file an extension, but there was nobody left behind. Anybody who needs an extension has one filed,” he said.
SDC is one of Milwaukee’s largest operators of the VITA program, an IRS service that provides free tax assistance for individuals or families with household incomes under $64,000 and for people who have disabilities or limited English-speaking abilities.
SDC completed tax returns for hundreds of clients, including some clients with extensions filed, before the agency closed. But others will need to be finished in the coming weeks, Sulton said.
According to Darryl Johnson, executive director of Riverworks Development Corp., or RDC, the group will also be joining efforts to service SDC’s VITA clients.
“We’re still in the process of coming up with a strategy that will help determine how to help everyone efficiently,” Johnson said. “Right now, we are waiting to see what our role will be.”
More details to come
Sulton said there will be about 35 volunteers working with the IRS to assist clients during normal business hours and after 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
“Folks will be contacted through the IRS and its partners and so folks should respond to that so that we can get these meetings scheduled to make sure we can get these returns filed timely,” he said.
Sulton said the IRS will create a schedule for the services in a 60-day period, and he anticipates all of the returns will be completed within that window.
Both Sulton and Johnson are awaiting more concrete details from the IRS. They are hopeful they will have more information to share next week.
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