AmeriCorps NCCC Completes $100 million in Tax Returns for Low-Income Households

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, announced that AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) has helped low-income families secure more than $100 million through their tax returns.

In 2010, AmeriCorps NCCC teams began supporting Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs at organizations across the country.  The teams receive IRS tax preparation certification, then provide no-cost tax services for qualifying low-income individuals.  The VITA program seeks to maximize the amount of the tax return for each client, helping the household become more financially stable and bringing more funds back to the community.

“National Service is an indispensable resource for communities across the nation,” said Kim Mansaray, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Working hand-in-hand with local organizations, these AmeriCorps NCCC members continue to provide important services to low-income communities and are helping Americans become more financially stable. We congratulate AmeriCorps NCCC on this achievement, and thank all our AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers who continue to support this important effort.”

Since 2010, more than 460 AmeriCorps NCCC members provided tax assistance to residents across 14 states. Currently six AmeriCorps NCCC teams support tax projects in California, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. 

This builds on CNCS’s commitment to support low- and middle-income families through tax assistance using multiple programs across the agency. Last year, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers helped 280,000 families and individuals file their taxes and recover millions in tax refunds and tax credits.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential program that engages young adults 18-24 in team-based service nationwide. Based in five regional campuses, AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs across the nation and are deployed to short-term projects related to urban and rural development, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and long-term disaster recovery. FEMA Corps, a branch of AmeriCorps NCCC, supports projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc.