RALEIGH, N.C.–State Employees CU is reporting that by the close of tax season on April 18, its tax preparers throughout the state had completed and electronically filed nearly 111,000 federal and state income tax returns for North Carolina residents.
In the process, SECU helped those members claim over $153 million in refunds and save an estimated $13.3 million in tax preparation fees.
Working in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, SECU said it filed nearly 96,000 tax returns for members and citizens who qualified for free tax preparation through the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. In its seventh year of offering its Low-Cost Tax Preparation service for members with incomes over the $54,000 VITA income threshold, SECU helped an additional 14,800 taxpayers file at a cost of just $75 per return. With a strong focus on financial education and tax credit awareness, SECU said its personnel assisted North Carolina tax filers with claiming all eligible tax credits. Among the returns filed this season, nearly $72 million in total credits were claimed, including $41 million in earned income tax credits, $26 million in child tax credits and $4 million in education tax credits.