- The United Way of Kern is preparing to bring free tax services to Delano residents and other cities throughout Kern County.
- This is the first time that the organization has been back to Delano since 2022.
- In 2022, United Way was able to assist 13 Delano families, giving back around $43,000 in refunds.
According to the IRS, there was a 2.3% decrease in total tax returns received from 2022 to 2023. The United Way of Kern County is bringing free tax services to Delano in hopes of educating the community and seeing more returns received.
"Although we only did one Saturday event, it was a very successful event because of the 13 families that we helped,” said Economic Resilience Manager for United Way of Kern County Sofia Calero-Mejia. “We were able to bring back close to $45,000 in refunds to the community at Delano. So, this time we just want to make it a little bigger."
Calero-Mejia says this was back in 2022 and given their full house — expansion was necessary not just for Delano but for all communities in Kern County.
"We're gonna be in Arvin, Shafter, Lost Hills, we have our main sites here in Bakersfield as well in different high schools but yeah you can find us in all of those areas like I said, and even Ridgecrest,” said Calero-Mejia.
The most recent one coming to Heritage Park on Saturday, February 17 from 10 am to 2 pm.
Calero-Mejia says these resources are vital for the community since they not only file your taxes but also educate you on the importance of filing.
That's the case for Nicolaza Salazar who first came to get help with her taxes in 2011 and while she still comes to get her taxes done — she says the process was so easy she decided to come back and do more.
"I wanted to contribute to my community because they didn't charge me to do my income tax so I wanted to help my community but more so the Hispanic community since I'm bilingual that's why I'm here - this is my seventh year,” said Salazar.
Calero-Mejia says this program has the potential to go above and beyond for some residents. During the process, she says people may also qualify for different credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the child tax credit.
Calero-Mejia says this program is completely free of charge, the only thing that's needed from the public are certain documents.
"ID's you know social security cards or ITIN letters for taxpayers and also for their dependents. They also need to bring all income forms if its self-employment we just need the total of expenses and income and you know we also need them to bring any other tax forms that were received as an expense.
March 23 and April 6 are the final dates coming up for Delano residents who are interested in receiving tax assistance — and there are more scheduled throughout the county. For more information, click here.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
