| Yes, you can get free
tax help from the IRS. Americans shell out $7.5 billion every tax year to have someone else prepare their
IRS return. Three tax seasons ago, 1.5 million people paid someone else to fill out their
IRS Form 1040EZ, the basic one-page IRS return with only twelve lines. Many IRS offices offer walk-in
tax help for
technical or tax questions about forms and IRS returns. Check the federal government listings in
the telephone book for the IRS office nearest you.
The IRS sponsors volunteer
tax help programs and offers help to tax payers in many of
its IRS offices and other community locations.
The Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance Program, (VITA), involves IRS trained volunteers who provide
free tax help at community locations to individuals who need tax help with basic
IRS return preparation. VITA is aimed at those for whom paid tax help may be out
of reach, those who are non-English speaking, persons with disabilities, those with a low
income, the elderly, and other individuals with special needs.
The Tax
Counseling for the Elderly Program, TCE, provides free tax help and
IRS return preparation to people age 60 and above, particularly those who are confined to
their residences or retirement communities. It's administered by the IRS in
cooperation with non-profit groups. The IRS trained volunteers provide free tax
help
and basic IRS return preparation to senior citizens. Volunteers travel to
tax payers' homes if they are unable to come to a local TCE site. Visit the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP) tax aid site to locate the nearest TCE facility.
The two above IRS help programs helped 3.5 million taxpayers in the 1996 fiscal year.
You can get free telephone
tax help by calling 1-800-829-1040. Getting through can be
difficult during the peak tax season, the 1½ months leading up to the April
15th IRS deadline. The best times
to call are early in the morning and later in the week. When calling this
tax help number, you may
ask tax questions to help you prepare your IRS return, or ask about a notice you may have
received from the IRS. Also, in certain areas, the IRS has local offices you may visit to receive
tax help.
The Community Outreach Tax Education Program offers free tax seminars to groups of
people sharing common interests. IRS employees or trained volunteers conduct tax
information seminars at convenient times and places in the community. The seminars can
cover a variety of IRS tax topics tailored to the needs of your organization's members and may
include films or videotapes and discussion of tax questions. This program also offers
line-by-line self-help IRS return preparation for tax payers who want to prepare their own
IRS returns.
If you plan to take advantage of any of the volunteer
tax help programs or the
self-help IRS return preparation, be sure to bring your current year blank
IRS tax forms,
IRS tax form W-2's, IRS tax form 1099's, a list of taxable income and expenses, and a copy of last year's
IRS tax return.
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