How To Get Free Tax Preparation Help Bankrate.com Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: May 22, 2017 Cheryl Knight Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. The Internal Revenue Service offers eligible taxpayers free preparation of their tax returns. To qualify for this service, you generally must make $54,000 or less per year. In addition, persons with disabilities, limited English-speaking skills and the elderly qualify for free tax preparation. to help taxpayers who need help filing their taxes. The programs employ IRS-certified volunteers to help you file your return. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance VITA
The first, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, offers tax preparation to persons with disabilities, limited English-speaking skills or low- to-moderate incomes. VITA volunteers assist qualifying individuals and couples with free basic income tax preparation. Once filled out, the forms they prepare are filed electronically. Tax Counseling for the Elderly TCE br
The second program, called Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, offers tax help for the elderly and retirees who might need answers to questions about their pension or retirement-related issues. TCE caters specifically to individuals and couples 60 years of age or older. Many of the volunteers for the TCE program, who are retirees themselves, work through various nonprofit organizations that receive grants from the IRS. Finding a VITA or TCE site
You can find VITA and TCE sites at select community or neighborhood centers. These sites include libraries, schools, shopping malls and other easily accessible locations across the U.S. The TCE program in particular operates primarily with the help of the AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide Program. In addition to volunteers, some sites also offer web-based tax preparation software for use by individuals wanting to prepare their own taxes. When looking for sites that offer the web-based programming on , look for locations listed as “Self-Prep.” What VITA and TCE volunteers prepare
While VITA and TCE volunteers prepare a lot of different tax forms for filing with your return, they do not offer help with all tax forms. The various forms that IRS VITA or TCE volunteers prepare include: Form W-2: Wages and tax statement Form 1099-INT: Interest income Form 1099-DIV: Dividends received Form 1099-G: State tax refunds Form 1099-G: Unemployment benefits Form 1099-R: IRA distributions Forms 1099-R, RRB-1099 and CSA-1099: Pension income Form SSA-1099: Social Security benefits Form 1099-B: Simple capital gains or loss Form 1099-S: Sale of home (limited) Form 1099-MISC: Self-employed income (limited) Form W-2G: Gambling winnings Form 1099-C: Cancellation of debt (limited) Form 1099-SA: Health savings accounts (limited) Schedule A: Itemized deductions (limited) Form 1099-T: Education credits Forms 1095-A, B or C: Affordable Care Act statements Child tax credit Earned income credit Prior year and amended returns (limited) There are certain, more complicated, . Items to bring to the VITA or TCE site
In order to facilitate quick service, you need to provide the certified volunteer tax preparers with certain documentation to aid in the preparation of your tax forms. When visiting a VITA or TCE site to have your taxes completed for free, bring the following items along with you: Photo ID Social Security card for the filers and their dependents, if any An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or assignment letter in lieu of a Social Security card if you or your dependents do not possess one Proof of foreign status, in the case of an ITIN Dates of birth for you, your spouse and your dependents Wage and earnings statements Statement from the bank showing any interest or dividend earned in the tax year Health insurance statements, including forms 1095-A, B, or C Health insurance exemption certificate A copy of state and federal returns for your previous year’s taxes The total you paid for any daycare, in addition to the daycare provider’s Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number Your bank account and routing number for the purpose of directly depositing your tax refund into your bank account. When having your taxes completed at a VITA or TCE site, remember that both spouses filing a joint tax return must sign the completed return before it is filed electronically. By taking advantage of the VITA or TCE program, you can save money when preparing your taxes — great for those on a low or fixed income. Are you getting a refund? Don’t blow it, but put it into a instead. Another online, no-cost option for tax return preparation is the IRS-endorsed for taxpayers whose adjusted gross incomes are $64,000 or less. The IRS says 70 percent of all Americans are eligible for Free File. SHARE: Cheryl Knight Related Articles