United Way of King County will provide quality free tax preparation services at 15 sites across King County from January 13 to April 15, 2009. Free tax preparation is available for taxpayers who make less than $42,000 and who need basic individual tax returns.
Taxes will be prepared by IRS-trained and certified volunteers and electronically filed for a rapid refund. Multilingual tax preparers will be available at several sites to serve customers who do not speak English. At the sites, tax customers will also be able to sign up for certain public benefits and learn about opportunities they have to make the most of their tax refunds by opening or expanding savings accounts, putting a portion of their refund into a U.S. Savings Bond or improving financial and budgeting skills.
United Way of King County is specifically focused on serving people eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax credit for low-income working families and individuals.
United Way provides free tax preparation and access to the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits to help working families increase their incomes and create savings. Free tax prep allows low-income people to keep more of their hard-earned money and avoid paying unnecessary fees for commercial tax preparation and "rapid refund" loans. Being financially stable reduces the risk of becoming homeless.
In 2008, 370 volunteers dedicated 12,000 hours to United Way of King County's Free Tax Preparation Campaign. Volunteers prepared 12,330 tax returns and helped return $14.4 million in federal refunds back to the community, including $4.6 million in Earned Income Tax Credits. The tax campaign saved customers more than $925,000 in tax preparation fees.
For information on the Free Tax Preparation Campaign e-mail EITC@uwkc.org.
United Way of King County Free Tax Preparation partners and sponsors:
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