An abundance of cost-free resources is available to assist taxpayers with their tax preparation, ranging from community-based programs to free tax software. The following are nine places that provide free tax counseling. While some systems may only disclose factors like freelancing income or mortgage deductions for an extra fee, others will include them in their free offers to their customers. Filing state taxes might potentially incur additional fees.
1. Free Tax Software
The objective of preparing a pretty straightforward return is straightforward. If you are comfortable doing it online, several organizations provide free. If this is your goal, you may find these companies by searching the internet. The best way to access these for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less as of the 2021 tax year is through the IRS Free File site. Your fundamental taxes, deductions, and credits will be computed, and your return will be electronically filed with the help of the free guided preparation software offered by private providers.
2. Community-Based Free Tax Preparation
Tax returns for taxpayers who are at least 60 years old and members of the armed forces. Those who don't qualify in any other way must have an annual income of less than $58,000 to be eligible. These programs are managed by IRS-certified volunteers and are held by community partners of the Internal Revenue Service. They can create simple tax returns, but they do not manage more sophisticated ones, such as those involving home office deductions or extensive capital gains and losses schedules.
3. AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide Program
Although the AARP Foundation's in-person and online tax help is available to everyone, the program's major emphasis is on taxpayers over 50 and those with low or moderate incomes. However, anybody may make use of the program's services. You don't need to be an AARP member. The Internal Revenue Service has also granted the program's volunteer counselors certification. The website for the program offers a feature that helps users find nearby program offices and access online tax preparation with advisors.
4. Military Tax Resource Center
The United States Department of Defense maintains the Military OneSource tax resource center. Service personnel and some veterans can free use tax preparation software, live chat assistance, and referrals to military tax experts from the Department of Defense (DoD). Additionally, it is a tool for locating VITA counselors who are experts in military tax problems and whose services are coordinated by the United States military.
5. Legal Advice Provided at No Cost
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics are available to taxpayers who meet the qualifying requirements and may assist taxpayers in resolving issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS. In the 48 contiguous states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the income limits that determined eligibility in 2021 were as follows: $32,200 for a single taxpayer, $43,550 for a couple, and $66,250 for a family of four.
6. IRS Interactive Tax Assistant
The IRS Interactive Tax Assistant allows users to ask questions on several tax-related issues. Based on the information you provide, it may assess whether or not you are required to submit an income tax return, claim a dependent, or deduct expenses. The entries are not saved anywhere, shared with anybody, or connected to a specific user.
7. IRS Help Lines
In addition to the extensive list of issues that IRS phone specialists would not cover, there are distinct phone support lines for companies, taxes on non-profit organizations, taxes on estates and gifts, taxes on excise, and callers from abroad. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), wait times may average 13 minutes during the tax-filing season (January to April) and 19 minutes throughout the period (May through December). Still, the agency adds that particular service lines may have lengthier delays.
8. Tax Offices of the IRS
If you have questions about your taxes that can't be answered over the phone or online, you may call the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in your area to make an appointment for an in-person consultation. On the website that gives directions for arranging these appointments, the Internal Revenue Service has a tool that helps you locate your local office.
9. Taxpayer Advocate Service
Within the Internal Revenue Service is an independent agency known as the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). Its mission is to advocate the interests of taxpayers as a whole and provide assistance to people whose tax issues are causing them to have financial difficulties. It can step in on behalf of taxpayers if those taxpayers' attempts to address a situation via the appropriate channels have been fruitless.
