Mills42 FCU Saves Low-Income Residents Nearly $16,000 in Tax Return Preparation Fees
April 27, 2021
We are a small but mighty federal credit union located in the heart of Lowell, Massachusetts. Membership in Mills42 is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Lowell, the northern portion of Chelmsford or the western portion of Tewksbury.
Lowell, Mass — Once again this year, the Mills42 FCU team prepared free federal income tax returns for low-income residents of Greater Lowell—90 in total—saving these individuals $15,840 in tax return preparation fees.
“I am proud that our team has worked with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program for the 9th consecutive year,” says Derek Cronin, CEO of Mills42 FCU. “Due to the state of our economy from the pandemic, the Mills42 team was especially excited to continue our participation this year. Putting nearly $16,000 of tax prep fees back into taxpayers’ pockets means more now than ever. This is a fantastic community program, and we’re thrilled to support it.”
The tagline of Mills42 FCU is “Build from here,” and the team has adopted this as their mission, as well— not just during tax season but all year-round. For Mills42 members with low credit scores, they off er smart fi nancial education on the causes and an even smarter plan for possible solutions. In fact, it is not unusual for the team to work with a member to ultimately improve their credit score by hundreds of points within several months to a year.
As additional support, Mills42 FCU off ers free checking, free savings and a variety of unique credit-building loan options, such as secured VISA® credit cards and small-dollar, short-term personal loans. “We’re a community credit union,” explains Cronin. “Thus, we want our community to know we’ve got their backs. The VITA Program is just one recent example.”
Mills42 FCU was chartered in 1958 to serve the employees and families of M/A-COM Technology Solutions. In 2005 the credit union expanded its charter to serve specifi c communities within Greater Lowell and moved to their current location at 83 Merrimack Street in Lowell, Mass. Mills42 has more than 2,950 members and assets of over $27.7 million.