Wake County Free Tax Prep
A Public Service of the Wake EITC Coalition
Free Income Tax Preparation by Volunteers
- Free preparation of your income tax return
- Free electronic filing of your return
- Free direct deposit of your return into your bank account(s)
- Free printed copy for your records
- Most income tax refunds are deposited in your bank account in 10 days!
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Raleigh, North Carolina — January 23, 2012 — The Wake County Free Tax Preparation Program is a public service of the Wake EITC Coalition and is free of charge to qualifying individuals with an income less than $50,000.00/year or who are over 62 years old (find free tax preparation sites in your area here). During the 2011 tax season, the program served thousands of Wake County community members who took part in the 2011 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Program sponsors for this year included: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the City of Raleigh, the United Way of the Greater Triangle, Debtors Unite, EITC Carolinas Initiative at MDC, Inc., and Republic Bank. It is in part to their unwavering support that the Coalition can offer the Free Tax Preparation Service.
With fifteen sites countrywide, the Coalition as a whole completed a total of 5,444 tax returns this season for the 2010 fiscal year. Of these, $1.5million were Earned Income Tax Credits claimed by qualifying individuals. According to the IRS, “the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a tax credit for certain people who work and have low wages.1”
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) totals included seven sites countrywide and twenty-three volunteers preparing and filing $2.1million in total refunds and $836,000.00 in EITC. An average of 1,480 tax returns were completed, increasing the previous years’ levels by 50%. By using the VITA sites during the 2011 tax season, a total of 461 families who had who had obtained a refund anticipation loan or who had paid to have their taxed prepared during the 2010 tax season, saved an average of at least $11,000.00 and $45,279.00, respectively. VITA sites serve community members who are of low income, speak a first language other than English and/or who are disabled.
The Wake EITC Coalition is a “collaboration between community partners, volunteers and government agencies organized to ease the burden of paying taxes, improve accuracy of tax returns and help taxpayers find community resources.2” The Coalition was formed in 2007 and receives training and support from the EITC Carolinas Initiative, as well as from local IRS partners and common goal organizations. It is clear that it continues to grow with each passing year.
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2010 federal and North Carolina income tax returns are due April 18th this year. Most of our free tax sites will be open until that deadline, including Fiscal Progress.
If you will not have your 2010 paperwork gathered by the deadline, you can also file for an extension. This does not change when the tax you may still owe is due, but allows you 6 more months to file your tax return. The Fiscal Progress location can aid you in e-filing your extension form.
After April 18th, the Fiscal Progress location will also continue to prepare and file taxes year-round by appointment only. This location does tax returns for years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and can do amendments as well. You can call (919) 719-1750 for an appointment.
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The state legislature is holding a press conference on Thursday, March 3 regarding the state earned income tax credit (EITC). Due to budget constraints, a proposal has been made to eliminate the refundable portion of the state EITC to save an estimated $52 million in the budget. Advocates with multiple nonprofit groups have another message, stating that cutting the refundable portion would be detrimental to the working poor. The EITC is designed to be an offset for the higher portion of taxes that low income families pay towards sales and other taxes. It also rewards those who are working but are unable to afford the basic necessities in life. Please review the following statement prepared for Thursday’s press conference: Read the rest of this entry »
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Are you anxiously awaiting your income tax refund? The Internal Revenue Service has embraced technology and is now offering an app that allows you to check the status of your refund on your iPhone or Android smartphone.Just go to the iTunes store (or Android Marketplace) to download the free IRS2Go app. It just takes a few seconds to download.
Of course if you took advantage of free income tax preparation and filing through your local VITA or TaxAide partner, you already know when to expect your refund. If you filed by Wednesday, then your direct deposit would be in your bank account the second Friday. A paper check would be mailed the third Friday and would likely arrive a few days later. This schedule is true for the entire tax season.
For more information, visit IRS.gov or search for the IRS2Go app in the iTunes store or Android Marketplace.
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National EITC Day brought out Internal Revenue Service officials and Representative Brad Miller to Wake VITA locations as a way to show support for local efforts. National EITC Day is an IRS-sponsored event that spreads news about available programs serving seniors and lower income tax filers.First, Representative Brad Miller serving the 13th District in North Carolina visited with tax filers and volunteers at the Wake County Human Services office at Swinburne Street in eastern Raleigh. He was accompanied by IRS Senior Operations Advisor Joseph Wilson, IRS Greensboro Territory Manager Roger Burton and IRS Tax Consultant Jennifer Yearsley. UNC Radio also made a visit to publicize the event.
IRS officials Wilson, Burton and Yearsley also visited Fiscal Progress in western Raleigh where they met with tax filers and volunteers. Stan Holt, Director of Regional Initiatives with the United Way of
the Greater Triangle also was on hand to visit with all in attendance. Officials wanted to see the VITA locations that have spearheaded the Wake EITC Coalition over the past several years. IRS officials fielded numerous questions from volunteers and funders.The Internal Revenue Service and United Way of the Greater Triangle have each provided funding for the Wake EITC Coalition and outreach efforts and continue to be primary sponsors of the service here in Wake County.
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Due to late-passed legislation, the IRS is not set up to accept all tax returns electronically at this time.
If you are a teacher deducting expenses incurred for your profession, you will have to wait to e-file. All itemizers will have to wait as well. If you have a mortgage or excessive medical expenses, you likely itemize.
According to the IRS, affected tax filers will be able to e-file Monday, February 14th. These returns are due April 18th along with the rest of 2010 individual income tax returns.
If you are an affected tax filer, you can still have your taxes prepared once you have received all your tax information. At our free tax preparation sites, we can prepare these tax returns, but will hold off on e-filing them until we have received the go-ahead from the IRS.
Questions? Contact your free tax preparation site.
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Perhaps you’ve heard that all you need to file your taxes is your last pay stub…not true. If you’re expecting a large refund it can be hard to wait for that W-2 to arrive in the mail, but it’s important to do so. Any place that would do your taxes without your W-2 in hand may be making costly mistakes on your behalf.
Not only do you need to wait for all your W-2s before going in to the nearest free tax preparation site, you need to make sure you have other applicable tax forms: interest statements, retirement forms (1099s), tuition forms (1098-T), and mortgage interest statements (Form 1098). Other forms that you may still be missing–but could give you even more back–include student loan interest paid (1098-E), child care expenses paid (statement will include the tax ID number of the child care provider), and proof of charitable giving.
If you live in North Carolina, charitable giving in 2010 can get you more money back on your state return, even if you don’t itemize. For more information, talk to your local free tax preparer.
Most of these forms have to be mailed by January 31st, but may take additional time to get to you, especially if you have moved in the last year. If you have not received them by February 15th, than it is time to take action. It is important to wait until you have all appropriate tax forms before filing your taxes, or you could have to repay back some of your refund. This is especially true for families who make less than $49,000 as they may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
For those who have already started receiving their tax forms, our free tax preparation sites will start opening as early as January 17th!
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This upcoming tax season is bound to be an interesting one.
The IRS has stepped up and eliminated the debt indicator, something that paid tax preparers use to see if someone would be a reasonable risk for a high-interest, short-term loan called a RAL, or Refund Anticipation Loan. These loans were designed to allow tax filers to receive the bulk of their tax refund in 1-2 days rather than receiving the whole refund in 10 days.
These RALs are more attractive to those of lower incomes as their refunds are often several thousand dollars thanks to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit and can use the money. But to get a RAL, you would have had to pay–on top of the fees charged to prepare and file the return–which cuts into the money working families need.
Now, H&R Block is suing HSBC for not setting up the system needed to provide RALs for this upcoming tax season (tax year 2010). Paid preparers make a lot of profit by offering this “service” to lower-income tax filers (H&R Block’s self-reported average fee of 2.1% works out to be 250% APR), and they aren’t happy about losing this potential revenue source. While the action the IRS has taken doesn’t make RALs impossible or illegal, it does raise the risk of offering them, which is probably why HSBC has backed out.
Hopefully this will lead to the elimination of these high-interest loans. There’s no need to pay someone money to receive your tax refund…you can receive your refund by direct deposit in 10 days (sometimes less!) without paying a penny. By visiting a free tax preparation site, you can also save additional money by not paying for your tax preparation, either.
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Free Tax Preparation Site for Low-Income Taxpayers
Raleigh – April 12, 2010 — Congressman Bob Etheridge will visit the Fiscal Progress VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site in Raleigh on Tuesday, April 13th to promote American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) ’09 tax credits. Read the rest of this entry »
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This week, the free tax preparation programs at 4 Wake County Human Service offices begin. Three of these locations are new for tax preparation:
The location at the Swinburne office is a returning site, but is also opening this week. For more information (including site hours and directions), click the above links. These locations all serve those who make less than $49,000 OR are 62 or older. They also do not require appointments.