Montgomery, NY – The Orange County CA$H Coalition hosted a community day of free tax preparation for qualifying individuals and families on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Residents were able to get their tax returns prepared at either the Middletown High School by volunteers from the Middletown Academy of Finance or at the Center for Hope in Newburgh by volunteers from AARP Tax-Aide.

Twenty-six tax returns from a combination of individuals earning less than $14,000 per year and families earning less than $49,000 were prepared free of charge. This provided a savings of approximately $2,600 in tax preparation charges. Volunteers from the community, who have undergone IRS Volunteer Tax Assistance Program training, were able to return $76,403 in refunds to their clients.  

This free tax preparation community day was sponsored by Key Bank and hosted by the Orange County CA$H Coalition.  The CA$H Coalition partners are: Orange County United Way, AARP Tax-Aide, the Internal Revenue Service, Hudson Valley Region 2-1-1, Orange County Government, Leadership Orange, Literacy Orange, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Middletown Academy of Finance, Orange County Rural Development Advisory Corporation, Citizens Bank, YWCA Orange County, and Fidelis Care.

The goal of the Orange County CA$H Coalition (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) is to put more money back into the pockets of those Orange County residents who may not know they are eligible for tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Care Tax Credit that could save them thousands of dollars.