If you’ve resolved to volunteer more in 2025, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is looking for hundreds of volunteers for its annual free tax preparation coalition, starting in January.
Roughly 450 volunteers are needed to serve as greeters and tax preparers at sites across Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
“The free tax prep coalition enables thousands of households in southwestern Pennsylvania to file their taxes for free every year,” said Emily Schmidlapp, manager of Moving to Financial Stability at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The program is run primarily with volunteers, who assist in completing tax returns for households earning up to $65,000 annually. In addition to providing tax preparation for free, the program helps people claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which can mean thousands of dollars in refunds for working families.
“It's people who are working hard for low wages, but it's also a lot of a lot of households that are earning decent wages and just that it's not enough to cover all of the expenses of daily life,” said Schmidlapp.
No tax preparation experience is needed, and training will be provided.
Last year, the coalition was able to help almost 9,000 taxpayers file for free, saving more than $2 million in fees, and claiming almost $12 million in refunds.
Learn more or sign up to volunteer at swpafreetaxes.org.
