Shore Up, Inc. is filing Delmarva residents’ taxes for free

DELMARVA—Many Delmarva residents suffered financial hardships last year, and now that Tax season has come around, a local non-profit is working to help locals get the most bang for their buck. While many people look forward to receiving a lump sum during tax season, some residents struggle with filing their paperwork, and for others, the fees are just too high.

VITA

Shore Up provides a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA is a free program, and Julie Peters of Shore Up says it can alleviate the stress that can come along with filing taxes. “Especially with the economy and the inflation being the way that it has been, people are struggling to really make ends meet and so unfortunately a lot of people are really banking on getting a tax refund.”

She even describes the difficulty she’s had in her own life. “I tried to do it for my daughter. She works part-time at a clothing store., and I tried to do her taxes last year, it was awful… The people who take advantage of this, they’re waiting on that refund, they need their refund. So why would they pay somebody?”

Reasonable Refunds

Not knowing how to fill out the paperwork can cost says Peters. The average refund that people received last year was $1100. “There are certain tax credits that people can get, but if they don’t know they can qualify for those credits they might not claim them… We did $1.6 million in tax refunds for last year. $600,000 of that, so all but a million was just for earned income tax credit.”

Satisfied Citizens

Peters says some people may be hesitant because the helpers are volunteers, but she assures they are IRS certified. Salisbury resident Jerome Kelly falls under that $67,000 bracket and uses Shore Up annually. “In the past I’ve gone to other places to have my taxes prepared, and it cost a lot of money just to have them prepared…Being able to go and get all your refund back, and some credits that you might not have known about awarded to your taxes return, it’s a great feeling.”

Shore up says they filled over 1700 tax applications for the 2023 fiscal year, and time they hope to double that. Officials say applications for tax help must be picked up at Shore Up’s Salisbury or Princess Anne locations. If you need assistance, call 410- 749-1142.