What are some places I can I get my taxes prepared for free?

  You have various tax preparation options available in our area, if you don’t do your own using Turbo Tax or whatever.  While many places will do your taxes for a fee, there are at least two free alternatives.

  The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $55,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns.  IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. While some RAOs have volunteers who take the VITA training and assist with taxes, we simply do not have the staff to provide that service.

  In addition to VITA, the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. The IRS-certified volunteers who provide tax counseling are often retired individuals associated with non-profit organizations that receive grants from the IRS. (The website below says TCE sites are currently closed due to COVID.)  The web site at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-you-by-volunteers provides you with two links where you can search (by zip code) for places near you that offer free tax return preparation by volunteers.  One link is for the “VITA/TCE Locator Tool” and one is for the “AARP Tax-Aide Site Locator Tool.”

  The last time I checked, AARP will do taxes for anyone at no charge - you don’t need to be an AARP member.  As an example, when I checked in January 2022, there were 20 different AARP tax-aide locations listed within 25 miles of my zip code - at libraries, retirement homes, senior centers, rec centers, etc.  Some of them allow you to make appointments on-line and others you have to call.  If you have additional questions for them, you can call the AARP tax-aide site located nearest you or visit AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Locator. Some are starting up in Feb and some later, and many may require an appointment if COVID is an issue or whatever.  Call the specific site you are interested in for details.

 As you know, if you do your own taxes, you have numerous options when it comes to filing - essentially snail mail or electronically.  When filing electronically, some tax software you buy (like Turbo Tax) will charge you to file your taxes and to have any refund deposited into your account. You may not know the IRS offers some free tax filing options (with various caveats). For more info on the IRS free options see the following link: https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

Note: Depending on the current situation, COVID could still impact some VITA and AARP tax sites, so you’ll have to contact them directly to find out if, and when, their services will be available and any constraints.  In addition, some of the links in this paper will only provide information once tax preparation season has started.