• Mission and History

    DelcoAD is a coalition of agencies, educational and financial institutions dedicated to building the financial health and stability of individuals and families in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

    We provide free income tax preparation at ten sites throughout the county as a component of a year-round campaign, linking individuals and families to asset-building resources.

    DelcoAD VITA volunteers file both federal and state income taxes for working individuals and families. We strive to ensure that Delaware County taxpayers gain access to all tax credits for which they are eligible.  Among these are refundable credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit.  The EITC acts as non-taxed, supplemental income for low-wage earners. This year the credit may offer an adult with three or more qualifying children a refund of up to $5,751.  While having your taxes prepared, you may also receive information about other financial resources and asset development tools, including:

    • public benefits (LIHEAP, SNAP, TANF)
    • alternative options to traditional banking, like free prepaid debit cards
    • Savings Bonds
    • FAFSA assistance
    • Banking

    To find a free tax site near you, click here

    How it all began…

    In the Fall of 2002, representatives of community and educational organizations in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, met with Federal Internal Revenue Service consultants at Swarthmore College to discuss ways in which they could partner to help low income citizens file tax returns free of charge.  The objectives:  to organize student volunteers to work at tax preparation sites hosted by non-profit organizations. These sites would help low income taxpayers obtain an underutilized tax credit: the Earned Income Tax Credit.

    Tax preparers could also help taxpayers financially by preparing their basic tax returns free of charge, thus ensuring that the taxpayers’ entire refund amounts would go directly into their hands, not into the hands of paid tax preparers, who would often charge an average of $200 per tax return for the exact same services, or, worse yet, charge exorbitantly high interest rates on “rapid refunds”.

    Since 2003, the consortium has grown and extended its services to over 7,300 residents of Delaware County, and has enabled over $10 Million to be brought back in to the local economy.  In 2010, nine VITA sites operated in Delaware County, bolstered by mobile sites at various locations staffed by DelCoAD partner PathWaysPA.

    These services and programs have been made possible through generous funding by both public and private sources.  Most notably, grants from the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development and the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania have bolstered the collaborative efforts of the consortium, enabling DelCoAD partners to access high quality training, outreach, and technological resources that are so critical to the consortium’s mission.