The Black Belt Community Foundation is looking to make tax season a little less painful for middle-income families.

For the first time, the BBCF will offer free tax preparation for households making less than $56,000 for 2011.

Felecia Jones, executive director of the BBCF, said the BBCF is partnering with Tuskegee University to help out middle-income residents.

“Black Belt Community Foundation was approached by Tuskegee University as a potential partner in this project. Through recent research on Black Belt area community resources and opportunities for citizens, several key factors were noted,” Jones said. “The most important issue noted, was that while there is a large population of low to middle-income residents who qualify for the earned income credit on their taxes, there are not many opportunities for those individuals and families to get free assistance with filing their income taxes.”

Jones said the BBCF was approached by Tuskegee University because it felt the BBCF would be a logical and ethical partner due to its involvement in the Individual Development Account Initiative (IDA).

Jones said the tax preparation program will help families save even more money.