TIFTON — University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is available to help local residents navigate tax season, according to Roxie Price, Tift County Extension’s Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) agent.

Price is in her third year of assisting local residents with their tax needs. She collaborates with UGA students majoring in financial planning and accounting who have been trained by the IRS to prepare taxes through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This free program serves individuals who earn less than $65,000 per year.

Clients provide Price with their tax documents, and she connects them with UGA students through Skype, a video chat service. Prior to the Skype appointment, clients are interviewed and complete an intake form when they bring their tax documents to the Extension office.

“We are really trying to help people who don’t have the money (for a tax preparer),” Price said. “The average cost for a simple tax return right now is approximately $120. Basically their taxes are completed when they return for the appointment. During this time, the tax preparer and reviewer go over the information with the client and we print their return.”

UGA Extension wanted to be a part of this service because it meets communities’ needs.

“Our purpose is to educate the community,” Price said. “We want them to learn to put a portion of their refund into savings for emergency reasons that may come up during the year, rather than spend it on something that may not be a necessity.”

This service also functions as a marketing tool for UGA Extension.

“Ninety-five percent of the people who come in to have their taxes prepared and filed have no idea what the Extension office is,” Price said. “It’s the perfect opportunity for me to market the Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H, and agriculture resources available at our office.”

More than 100 people have taken advantage of the UGA Extension/VITA program in Tift County. Price hopes there will be more.

“If they want to save $120 and learn ways to save their refund throughout the year for their family, then they need to visit the Tift County Extension office,” Price said.

This service will be available until April 13. Clients must call the Extension office in Tifton at 229-391-7980 to make an appointment.

Julie Jernigan is an intern at UGA-Tifton.