PREPARING A TAX RETURN

Who Can Help

If you want to have someone help you, ask your friends and co-workers for suggestions. If someone helps you prepare your tax return, they also need to sign it. But you are responsible for any mistakes that get made.

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program
VITA is free tax help from the IRS for households that earn less than $35,000 per year. Trained volunteers provide this service at community agencies, churches, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other places. To find a location near you, call 1-800-829-1040.

TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) Program
TCE is an IRS program for free tax help to people age 60 and older.  Trained volunteers provide free tax counseling and basic income tax preparation for senior citizens. Call 1-800-829-1040.

Free File with IRS
The IRS provides a “Free File” program, which provides free tax preparation and filing for forms 1040 and 1040EZ online through different private tax preparation companies.  This program is for federal taxes only.  Understand that you do not need to buy any additional services from these companies.

CalFile
For California state income taxes, there is a free program called “CalFile” offered by the Franchise Tax Board.  You can use this if you have a return that does not include a small business.

Professional Tax Preparers are people you can hire to help you fill out your taxes. Here are questions you can ask before hiring someone to prepare your tax return:

1. What are your normal working hours? Do I need to make an appointment?

2. How many years have you been preparing taxes?

3. What is your experience with taxes for someone in my situation?        

4. What are the price ranges for your services?

5. What happens if there is a mistake on my return?

6. What if I have a problem after tax season is over?

Remember: no matter who you hire, you are still responsible for what gets sent in.

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