Officials with Atmore’s United Bank announced Thursday it will again offer free tax preparation and filing assistance to residents across its footprint as part of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or VITA. Self-assisted VITA sites will be available at the bank’s Atmore, Foley and Frisco City locations from

Monday, Feb. 4, through Friday, April 12, 2013, with services available to individuals and families with total 2012 incomes of $57,000 or less. A new online portal is also available this year for more convenient access.

United Bank President and CEO Bob Jones said the community assistance program is beneficial for the entire area.

“When we reach out to help our neighbors understand their taxes and better manage their finances, it benefits our entire community,” Jones said. “United is proud to offer this resource again this year.”

Tax assistance will be available in Atmore on Tuesdays from 2 until 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 2 until 6 p.m. at the United Bank Support Office at 109

W. Nashville Ave. (251-446-6000) and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the bank’s Foley location at 516 S. McKenzie Street (251-943-2020).

Assistance in Frisco City will be available Wednesdays from 2 until 6 p.m. at 4285 Bowden Street (251-267-3161). United Bank is also sponsoring free tax assistance from home at www.myfreetaxes.com/unitedbanktaxes. Clients using the web service should follow the links to “start filing for free now” once the page loads to create a user id and password.

Residents seeking assistance are encouraged to make an appointment by calling the individual offices. Taxpayers must provide a social security card for each person on their return as well as any W2s, 1099s or other relevant income or interest statements.

Using the most recent data provided by the IRS, community VITA sites prepared approximately 1.3 million tax returns across 5,700 sites during the 2011 tax filing season and brought back more than $1.9 billion in tax refunds to taxpayers whose average adjusted gross income (AGI) was $21,000. In 2012, United Bank assisted more than 60 residents in preparing their returns.

For more information about United Bank or its efforts with VITA, please contact Greg Walker at 251-605-4477 or email greg.walker@unitedbank.com. Interested parties can also visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov to learn more about the VITA program.