The Official Website of the Louisiana Department of Revenue
BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Revenue is providing tax assistance and electronic filing through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at sites in the Lake Charles region.
“The VITA program greatly assists our older taxpayers and those with lower incomes who cannot afford to pay for tax assistance or to have their returns filed electronically,” says Revenue Secretary Cynthia Bridges. She adds that representatives of Revenue will be on hand at various sites on certain days to assist taxpayers with the preparation of their federal 1040A and 1040EZ tax returns, as well as the state return.. “The completed tax returns will be filed electronically free of charge,” Bridges points out.
Only the federal tax returns 1040A and 1040EZ are eligible under the VITA program, Bridges says. She points out that an appointment is necessary for VITA assistance at the Revenue Regional Office listed below, but no appointment is necessary for VITA assistance at the other sites listed.
Taxpayers seeking assistance with their tax returns will need to bring the following items: two forms of identification (one must be with a photo); Social Security cards for the taxpayers who are filing, as well as for all dependents claimed; copies of all W-2 forms for the year 2001; copies of all Form 1099s (notices of interest and dividends); proof that the Federal Advance Tax Credit was received (due to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001); Form 1098-T if claiming a child care credit (must have the name, address, and identification number of the childcare provider); a copy of last year''s return (if possible); a voided check (for direct deposit purposes); and Federal Form 8453 (available at the site) signed by the taxpayer (and spouse if filing jointly).
The following is a listing of the Revenue regional office and telephone number for appointment purposes, as well as regional VITA sites, dates of service, address, and hours of operation:
Lake Charles Regional OfficeBy appointment onlyOne Lakeshore Drive, Suite 1550Lake Charles337-4912504
Allen ParishFebruary 28,2002Allen Parish Library833 4th AveKinder10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Beauregard ParishFebruary 21, 2002Beauregard Parish Library205 South WashingtonDeRidder10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Calcasieu ParishMarch 12,2002Calcasieu Parish Library301 West ClaudeLake Charles9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Cameron ParishMarch 14, 2002Cameron Parish Library498 Marshall StreetCameron10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Jeff Davis ParishMarch 28, 2002Jeff Davis Parish Library118 West PlaquemineJennings10:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m.
