Filing your income taxes can be, well, taxing. But United Way of King County is here to help. Our Free Tax Preparation program is back, and we’re pleased to announce the return of in-person tax assistance as well as virtual tax service— after nearly two years of reduced service due to COVID-19. Our tax preparation services are a convenient option available to you, your family members and your community!

The Free Tax Preparation services are for households making under $70,000. Filers can be connected to other community resources and public benefits by request. United Way has trained about 10,000 volunteers since launching the program in 2003, and we’ve helped filers secure millions of dollars in federal tax refunds.

From now through April 21^st, United Way is offering free tax preparation services both virtually and in person at 11 locations throughout King County. That includes our flagship site, which will be located at Westfield Southcenter mall for the first time ever.

That means that while you’re busy browsing for something in your size, you can also enlist our tax preparation specialists to scour your tax return for reductions such as Earned Income or Child Tax credits. The Southcenter site is located at the West Mall Doors (Nordstrom) entrance adjacent to Savy Boat hobby store and across from UNIQLO clothing store. And because it’s a shopping mall, you know there’s plenty of parking!

Other locations include Jubilee REACH in Bellevue and West Seattle Food Bank. In keeping with COVID-19 pandemic precautions, all tax preparation locations observe public health guidance. For the safety of program participants, tax clients and guests over 12 years old must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Masking is always required on-site.

Our 11 in-person locations offer filing services with no appointments needed. To find a location near you, languages available, a list of what items to bring, information about our COVID-19 policies or other information, visit United Way’s website at www.FreeTaxExperts.org or call 2-1-1.

W tuke also offer virtual tax filing assistance with one of our volunteer tax experts. Interested? Visit https://www.GetYourRefund.org, but please note: Our virtual tax assistance slots are limited. Also, filing virtually means that you will need to submit personal information online. If you do not feel comfortable navigating a web client or sharing such information as your Social Security Number, driver’s license number or other identification information, virtual filing might not be for you. Come see us in person instead.

Lastly, we offer virtual filing assistance without volunteer help. Unlike the other two filing methods, virtual filing without assistance has no income limits. Like the other filing methods, it’s free. Interested? Log onto United Way’s ”My Free Taxes” tool at www.MyFreeTaxes.com.

In addition to offering these tax services, United Way’s tax team partnered with Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness and AT&T to conduct outreach to people experiencing homelessness before tax filing deadlines. The tax team also secured grants from the IRS and City of Seattle and launched a new partnership with King County 2-1-1, a free telephone number for access to local community services. It is part of our way of helping to take the stress out of tax season.