NYC Free: tax preparation services

If you earned less than $60,000 last year, you can file your taxes FREE in New York City, either online or at one of nearly 200 FREE tax preparation service sites staffed with IRS-certified preparers to help you complete the return.

New Yorkers with children who earn approximately $53,000, or those without children who earn approximately $18,000, including seniors receiving Social Security, are eligible for the free tax preparation services.

New York City partners with Intuit Inc.’s Turbo Tax Freedom Edition and MyFreeTaxes, powered by H&R Block, in partnership with Goodwill Industries International, to offer these services annually, in all five boroughs.

The official NYC website for all free tax prep information is nyc.gov/taxprep.

Preparers will help you claim important tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the NYC Child Care Tax Credit, and enroll in the New York City tax-time savings program called SaveUSA.

New Yorkers visiting one of five designated VITA sites can participate, to receive a 50 percent match, up to $500, if you deposit at least $200 of your tax refund into a SaveUSA account and maintain the initial deposit for one year. There is no penalty for withdrawing refund deposits before the end of the year, but if you do, you lose the matching funds.

Visit nyc.gov/taxprep or call 311 to find a SaveUSA VITA site.‚

NYC’s Annual Tax Credit Campaign increases awareness about tax credits that put money back in the pockets of working New Yorkers, and helps qualifying residents file their taxes for free. EITC is one of the largest poverty reduction program in the U.S., a federal, state and New York City tax credit for qualifying families, non-custodial parents (NYS EITC only), and singles who work full time or part time or are self-employed.

During the 2012 tax season, approximately 30 million U.S. families claimed the EITC totaling more than $60 billion.

For working families in New York City, EITC claims average $2,500 and can be worth as much as $8,293. Families with low incomes who are employed or underemployed and have child care costs for children up to age four could also be eligible for up to $1,733 with the New York City Child Care Tax Credit (NYC CCTC). Combined, these credits can total almost $10,000.

NYC’s  Annual Tax Credit Campaign is the largest in history and reflects the city’s commitment to deliver essential services to New Yorkers with low and moderate incomes and helping them improve their financial stability.

Low and moderate income New Yorkers also should use direct deposit, which will help get your federal tax refund within 21 business days.

Anyone who needs a safe, affordable bank account should sign up for NYC SafeStart. The account has no overdraft fees and no monthly fees if you maintain a minimum balance of $25 or even less depending on the financial institution. For more information, visit nyc.gov/SafeStart.

The NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs also is inviting New Yorkers to share what they will do with their refund and encourage everyone who files to share their story on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #GotMyRefund. DCA also has a Short Messaging Service (SMS) texting campaign, which will play a crucial part in fulfilling the campaign’s engagement goals. Anyone can subscribe to the service by texting “Refund” to 97779.