From left, Julian Dominic and Cash Oregon volunteer Jared Matthews look at a computer while preparing Dominic's taxes as part of Metropolitan Family Service's Cash Oregon program, Portland, Ore., Mar. 5, 2025. Dominic, who has multiple streams of income, says the free help from Cash volunteers is "reassuring."
Anna Lueck for OPB
Tax season often brings stress and uncertainty. But for many Oregonians, free help is available through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
This national initiative, operated in Oregon by Cash Oregon of Metropolitan Family Services, provides free tax preparation services to moderate-income households. In 2024, Cash Oregon volunteers completed over 9,100 tax returns, resulting in $18 million in refunds for taxpayers.
On Feb. 24, Cash Oregon’s headquarters in northeast Portland is filled with volunteers assisting about 20 different taxpayers in Spanish and English. Andrea Dobson, who was a bus mechanic with TriMet for 18 years, started volunteering as a tax preparer when she retired.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing my taxes," says MFS Cash Oregon volunteer Andrea Dobson. "I know everybody thinks I’m crazy, but it’s like a puzzle to me. And I love puzzles.” says Dobson.
Lillian Karabaic / OPB
“I’ve always enjoyed doing my taxes. I know everybody thinks I’m crazy, but it’s like a puzzle to me. And I love puzzles,” said Dobson.
It’s really the people, though, that have kept Dobson coming back every year since 2008. “Just everybody has a story and I always try to find some common ground to meet people. And they’re so grateful for this service,” she said. “It’s just the most rewarding volunteer thing I’ve ever done.”
To learn how to do it, volunteers go through an extensive training process each fall and complete a certification exam from the IRS. “Everybody has to take the exam every year because the tax law is always changing,” said Dobson.
There’s no requirement to have a background in taxes or accounting — just a willingness to learn and an interest in making people comfortable, especially people who are intimidated by taxes. Dobson said their goal is to make sure every taxpayer understand what’s happening. “We’re going to spend a lot of time talking to you and making sure we understand every detail about your situation, whatever that might be. And it’s totally confidential,” she said.
About one-third of Cash Oregon’s clients are “limited English proficiency” and they’re always looking for bilingual volunteers to help communicate with clients. If they don’t have a volunteer who shares the taxpayer’s language, there’s access to a bank of translators through their partner Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
“I think it’s a common misconception that immigrants without legal statuses are not filing their taxes,” said Riley Eldredge, director of the Cash Oregon program. “[But] if you’re earning money in the United States, the IRS wants to know about it and they’re ensuring that that income is taxed.”
The IRS has always stated they don’t share taxpayer data with immigration authorities. But there’s increasing uncertainty if it will remain that way under the new administration. That has caused wariness for some long-term volunteers.
Volunteer Peter Tkach, left, assists Sheryl L Hirshon with her tax preparation as part of Metropolitan Family Service's Cash Oregon program in Portland, Ore., Mar. 5, 2025. This is Hirshon's third year using the program, which she began using after she retired and taxes got "complicated."
Anna Lueck for OPB
“The entirety of our program depends on volunteers getting involved in this work and wanting to help the community,” said Eldredge. “If we lose the volunteer pool, then suddenly we’re not going to be able to provide these services anymore.”
This fear has also led to hesitation among immigrant families about filing their taxes.
Eldredge maintains that filing taxes remains crucial for everyone. “At this point in time, we’re seeing a lot of uncertainty, but we know the need to get your taxes done is important for economic reasons, for social reasons, for even immigration reasons,” said Eldredge.
For Andrea Dobson, the most satisfying returns are when she helps someone get a big refund. Recently, her quality review meant that one client received a $2,000 refund.
That quality review is part of what makes VITA tax preparers so accurate. “The IRS audits us every year. We’re always at like 97% accuracy, which is way better than the average of people that are paid to do this sort of thing,” said Dobson.
While VITA volunteers can handle many common tax situations, some cases are out of scope, like businesses with employees or with a net loss. There’s also an income limit — for the 2024 tax year, the limit is $67,000.
Free tax preparation services are available at sites across Oregon and Southwest Washington, as well as virtually.
Editor’s note: Lillian Karabaic volunteered as a tax preparer for VITA off and on from 2008-2021 before working at OPB.