Catholic Charities of San Antonio Helps Low-Income Families Access $30 million in Refunds

A program coordinated by Catholic Charities of San Antonio and its coalition partners is the nation’s largest volunteer program, and last year helped 30,000 low- and moderate-income people fill out tax forms at no charge, said Steve Saldana, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of San Antonio. Refunds have increased dramatically from $2 million only four years ago to $30 million last year, and the goal is to exceed that tally this year, he added.

These tax credits – designed specifically for the working poor – can mean the difference between a family needing to pay taxes and getting a good refund.

The average refund from the

San Antonio

service is between $2,500 and $4,000, Saldana said, and for a family struggling to make ends meet, that amount of money could go a long way to help pay bills for food, utilities or housing.

“When you’re making $20,000 a year, this money is the difference between being able to buy a car or to buy a house,” Saldana said, emphasizing that this tax credit applied to taxes paid by the working poor through their jobs. “This is money that they have earned; it’s not a freebie,” he said.

Saldana said the free tax assistance service in

San Antonio

compares with private companies that would charge between $300 and $600 for the same service. The

San Antonio

volunteer program also has set up rapid return programs for $10, which is a fraction of the cost charged by private companies.

The typical client coming to the free tax assistance program in

San Antonio

is a single mother with children, and Saldana said that Catholic Charities has set up one-stop centers where qualified families can learn about and sign up for other programs such as food stamps or child health insurance programs.