Cook County VITA Tax volunteers available to help with taxes this year

The Cook County VITA tax volunteers are gearing up to help Cook County residents with their taxes once again this year. They are currently undergoing testing and training to make sure they are aware of any tax changes this year. The COVID-19 pandemic will change procedures of how our tax volunteers will deal with taxes, but you can receive tax help beginning Tuesday, February 2, through Tuesday, April 13, 2021. This is a free service for low to moderate-income residents and senior citizens in our county.

There will be three sites to drop off your tax information and pick up your tax copies once your taxes are finished. The Tofte Town Hall will be available on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. until noon. The Cook County Community Center will be available on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The Grand Portage Post Office will be available every day for tax drop off, but finished taxes will be available for pick up on Tuesdays. It will take up to two weeks (one week minimum) for your taxes to be done from the drop off time to the pick up time. That is because after your taxes are done, they go to a second tax volunteer for review before they are E-filed and a tax copy is made available to you. All tax documents will be returned to you. No tax records are kept on any local computer by the volunteers. The tax information is input into a secure web site run by a professional tax software company approved by the IRS.

When you go to a drop-off site, please wear a mask. Bring all the tax information you may need with you, as well as photo identification such as a driver’s license. Once your identity has been confirmed, you will sit down and fill out an intake form with the required tax information. Some of the information you will need to have with you will include the following: social security numbers for you, your children, your spouse; your date of birth and those of your children and spouse; information about your stimulus payment (EIP); routing and account numbers to receive your refund by direct deposit or pay your balance due if you choose; childcare records (including the provider’s tax ID number if applicable; income of dependents and other adults in your home, W-2’s and unemployment records; retirement income and any interest and dividend income: stock sales; records of any estimated tax payments; if you plan to itemize, you will also need records for your itemizations.

The intake form and any tax paperwork you submit will go into a locked tax box where it will be listed under your unique PIN number. You will receive a receipt with your unique PIN number.