K-State Research and Extension Johnson County will partner with El Centro, Inc. and Kansas City Metropolitan Tax Coalition to offer free basic tax return preparation services at the Sunset Drive Office Building, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, in Olathe, from Feb. 5 to April 12.

This service is available to qualified individuals who make $67,000 a year or less. There are two types of services available:

• Walk in assistance: Available Wednesdays and Thursdays (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Saturdays (8:30-11:30 a.m.). There are no appointments, with first come, first served, or until capacity is reached.
• Drop-off assistance: A secure drop box is available in the Extension office Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Document copies must be received by April 8.

Spanish language assistance is available.

The IRS has operated the VITA program for more than 50 years. VITA services are free and trusted source for preparing tax returns. All VITA tax preparers are trained and certified before completing returns. Preparers are volunteers and receive no compensation for their service.

During last year’s tax season, the Sunset Drive VITA site filed 1,600 federal returns, and a similar number of state returns. About $435,000 in tax preparation fees were saved by Johnson County taxpayers.

For more information about the program or to view a checklist of documents to bring, visit johnson.k-state.edu.