One nice thing about being retired on a small income is that you may not even need to file a return! There’s always a silver lining. But if you need help doing your taxes, assistance is going to be a little harder to find this year, especially from the government.
The IRS has traditionally offered assistance through both walk-in centers and phone assistance. But according to recent news stories, such as this one in the Washington Post, the number of taxpayers having trouble getting through to an IRS agent for assistance over the phone has been at an all-time high this year. And the IRS has warned that the availability of in-person assistance at local Tax Assistance Centers will be very limited. As reported in Forbes, the IRS is attempting to establish an appointment system at some centers, but they are blaming budget cuts plus a large burden of new work related to the Affordable Care Act for their inability to provide much tax assistance this year.
Fortunately, there are a number of other sources of free tax assistance available to those with lower incomes (usually under $53,000) and relatively uncomplicated tax situations. And it's not too late to get help!
The IRS’s website provides links to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program locations around the country. These centers are staffed by IRS-certified volunteers.
The AARP Foundation also provides volunteer-staffed programs for free tax filing assistance, for all ages, at centers around the country. You can find out more about the program and locations at the AARP Foundation Tax Aide program website.
In addition, there are other non-profit organizations that work at libraries and other community centers to help qualifying taxpayers prepare and electronically file their returns. In my area, the libraries will give you a list of tax preparation programs with locations, days and hours, and phone numbers to get information and make appointments. Some centers do offer appointments, while others operate on a walk-in basis. Since I tutor and teach at the library several times a week, I’ve seen floods of people come in to have their taxes done by one of several groups, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about the help they got. If you want to find free local tax filing that may not be included on the IRS lists, I’d start by calling your local library and senior center.
You can prepare your own tax returns using free online software that will electronically file your return. I’ve always done my own taxes and have found that the commercial online electronic services have gotten better and better over the years. My only complaint has been that the online no-cost filing forms sometimes aggressively try to steer you to choose options that you have to pay for, and that can get very annoying! However, they are easy to use, do a good job, do all the work of filing for you, and seem to be pretty reliable in terms of sorting out deductions and stuff like that. Plus, you don’t have to keep checking and rechecking your math to avoid errors. Here are the three top free commercial services that received top user votes in a survey published by Lifehacker.com. Keep in mind that although these providers offer free basic preparation and e-filing, they will charge you for additional services, including state taxes and other add-ons. And as I found, they can be pretty aggressive and even tricky in trying to convince you that you need and should pay for those extras.
The IRS has traditionally offered assistance through both walk-in centers and phone assistance. But according to recent news stories, such as this one in the Washington Post, the number of taxpayers having trouble getting through to an IRS agent for assistance over the phone has been at an all-time high this year. And the IRS has warned that the availability of in-person assistance at local Tax Assistance Centers will be very limited. As reported in Forbes, the IRS is attempting to establish an appointment system at some centers, but they are blaming budget cuts plus a large burden of new work related to the Affordable Care Act for their inability to provide much tax assistance this year.
Fortunately, there are a number of other sources of free tax assistance available to those with lower incomes (usually under $53,000) and relatively uncomplicated tax situations. And it's not too late to get help!
The IRS’s website provides links to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program locations around the country. These centers are staffed by IRS-certified volunteers.
The AARP Foundation also provides volunteer-staffed programs for free tax filing assistance, for all ages, at centers around the country. You can find out more about the program and locations at the AARP Foundation Tax Aide program website.
In addition, there are other non-profit organizations that work at libraries and other community centers to help qualifying taxpayers prepare and electronically file their returns. In my area, the libraries will give you a list of tax preparation programs with locations, days and hours, and phone numbers to get information and make appointments. Some centers do offer appointments, while others operate on a walk-in basis. Since I tutor and teach at the library several times a week, I’ve seen floods of people come in to have their taxes done by one of several groups, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about the help they got. If you want to find free local tax filing that may not be included on the IRS lists, I’d start by calling your local library and senior center.
You can prepare your own tax returns using free online software that will electronically file your return. I’ve always done my own taxes and have found that the commercial online electronic services have gotten better and better over the years. My only complaint has been that the online no-cost filing forms sometimes aggressively try to steer you to choose options that you have to pay for, and that can get very annoying! However, they are easy to use, do a good job, do all the work of filing for you, and seem to be pretty reliable in terms of sorting out deductions and stuff like that. Plus, you don’t have to keep checking and rechecking your math to avoid errors. Here are the three top free commercial services that received top user votes in a survey published by Lifehacker.com. Keep in mind that although these providers offer free basic preparation and e-filing, they will charge you for additional services, including state taxes and other add-ons. And as I found, they can be pretty aggressive and even tricky in trying to convince you that you need and should pay for those extras.
- Turbotax was the most popular free tax return preparation tool in Lifehacker’s survey.
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