• Your spouse (if filing jointly)
• Photo ID (and your spouse’s photo ID, if filing jointly)
• Social Security Card or ITIN for each person on your return (including dependents)
• Income documents (W-2, 1099s, Social Security income documents)
• Business expense documents (if filing for self-employment income)
• If anyone in the household is insured through the WA HealthPlan Marketplace, please bring Form 1095-A and each dependent’s proof of income
• Recommended: Bank account and routing numbers to direct deposit your tax refund

While we prefer to see either your physical card (or a picture of it on your cell phone), if you cannot find your Social Security Card we can still file for you. You will just have to fill out a brief permission form before we can look it up.

Unfortunately, the IRS has recently mandated that we stop using prior year returns to verify identity, even if the return was prepared by United Way of King County. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Our services are 100% free, always
• We save the average taxpayer an average of $250
• Our sites are volunteer-staffed, and all our volunteers are IRS certified
• Every completed tax return undergoes an extensive review process to ensure quality and accuracy
• We will never offer predatory lending options such as “rapid refunds”
• There are many other ways that Free Tax Help differs from a paid preparer. We invite you to come in person and see the difference for yourself!

Our tax assistance options are geared toward folks who want help filing their returns or who would rather someone file for them. If normally you would file your taxes online without assistance, there is no need for you to visit one of our sites. Instead, we recommend you use a free file service, such as MyFreeTaxes.com.

Free Tax Help can handle most returns, including self-employment income and international students. However, some returns are considered out-of-scope for us, per IRS regulations. Returns involving one of the following income types or expenses cannot be prepared at Free Tax Help sites:

• Cryptocurrency
• State tax returns (WA does not have state tax)
• Income/loss from rental property
• Sale or foreclosure of a house
• Active military pay
• Moving expenses
• Farm income/loss
• Credit from Forms 4136, 2439, 8839 (adoption credit), 8801, 8885
• Bankruptcy
• Affordable Care Act: Parts IV (Shared Policy Allocation) and V (Alternative Calculation for Year of Marriage) of Form 8962
• Business returns that include any of the following:
  • Business expenses in excess of $35,000
  • Business showing a net loss
  • Employee taxes
  • Depreciation or amortization
  • Inventory at year-end
  • Business using accrual-based accounting
  • Business use of home expenses
  • Prior year disallowed passive activity loss

The IRS filing deadline is April 18th, 2022, but we do not recommend waiting until the last minute. Filing sooner rather than later is better for almost everyone, especially for people who may have to amend their return or who have recently experienced a major life change (marriage, divorce, death, had a child in 2022, etc.). Our tax sites get very busy close to the deadline— come in early to beat the rush!

Use the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool to check the status of your federal refund. You will need your Social Security Number or ITIN, your filing status (ex. single, married filing jointly, etc.), and your exact refund amount– the amount of money that your tax preparer or tax software told you to expect.

Unfortunately, fraud and scams are common during tax season—but preparing yourself to recognize these threats and taking certain precautionary steps can reduce your risk. The website WalletHub compiled a helpful list of tips, starting with the two they deem most important:

1. File as early as possible every year, even if you don’t expect to owe any taxes or receive a refund.
2. Take commonsense steps to safeguard your personal information, such as signing up for free 24/7 credit monitoring or putting a freeze on your credit.

Read on for their other tips, such as ordering your tax transcript and improving your ability to recognize webpages that may not be secure or safe: Tax Scams & Tips for Avoiding Them

United Way of King County tax sites will be open from January to April, with some sites expected to operate into the summer months depending on service needs. We recommend that you plan to file during the tax season. However, if you anticipate needing assistance after the filing season, you may contact the Free Tax Team at freetax@uwkc.org.

If you are looking for a past Federal return, you can obtain prior-year tax return transcripts on the IRS Get Transcript webpage. If you previously filed with United Way of King County, we can also send you your prior-year returns. Please contact us at freetax@uwkc.org.

No, you do not need to claim your rental assistance payment in your tax return.

Unfortunately, United Way of King County cannot check on a return’s status once it has been transmitted. Please contact the IRS with any questions you have about the status of your return.

It is not too late to claim your stimulus money if you did not receive it! You can check to see if you received all three payments here: https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

Yes, you can claim the Working Families Tax Credit at both our in-person and virtual tax sites!

If you’re able to get to one of our sites in King County, we can help you in-person, or we can help you virtually on GetYourRefund.org (virtual services open 1/31/2023). We do not require you to live within King County to receive assistance.

However, please note that we cannot prepare out-of-state returns or state taxes. If you recently moved to Washington State and must file state taxes with the state you moved from, we are not trained to prepare these types of returns. We can prepare your federal return and give you a recommendation on where to file your state return, if you wish.

Unfortunately we are not able to look up income documents for you. If you do not have your income documents, please request an IRS transcript: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

Unfortunately, United Way of King County cannot help with this. You will need to contact the IRS for resolution. However, we can help you prepare a return to mail to the IRS.

In partnership with Crisis Connections, we are able to offer free Lyft rides for eligible tax clients to one of our tax sites. Please click on the following link to view the flyer: Ride United Flyer

GetYourRefund.org provides an easy way to virtually complete your taxes through a few easy steps:

• For free virtual tax preparation, click on “File with GetYourRefund”.
• Create a GetYourRefund profile, answer intake questions, and upload photos of your tax and ID documents. Please note that preparation cannot begin unless all required documents are uploaded.

After you’ve uploaded your documents:

• You will receive communication from one of our intake volunteers, who will go over your documents and make sure that everything is present.
• Once your documents are ready, you will pick an appointment slot to have your tax return prepared.
• One of our tax preparers will complete your return.
• You will then digitally sign your completed return and choose how you would like it to be transmitted to the IRS.

In a lot of ways, it isn’t any different— a team of volunteers will receive and review your tax and income documents, they will prepare your return, check it for any errors, and submit it to the IRS on your behalf. Our virtual tax volunteers can also answer any questions you might have. However, there are a few things to consider if you wish to use our virtual tax services:

• You will need to submit very sensitive information, such as your Social Security Card, Photo ID, tax documents, and bank information (if you wish to direct deposit) through an online portal. If you do not feel comfortable sharing this information virtually, we recommend that you visit an in-person site instead.
• You will need to be comfortable taking clear, legible photographs of all your documents and be comfortable taking a picture of yourself. If you do not have access to a suitable camera (such as a smartphone camera) and/or a scanner, we recommend that you visit an in-person site.
• You must be comfortable navigating an online platform. Unfortunately, we cannot walk you through each step of the process.

GetYourRefund.org is not an automated process. A team of volunteers will be reviewing each uploaded document by hand. Please enable text and/or email alerts (if you are able) and check your account frequently after you upload your documents to look for communication from our virtual volunteers. We cannot prepare and file your return without communicating with you and obtaining your digital signature. Please allow at least 48 hours to hear back from a volunteer after uploading your documents and/or completing other steps in the virtual tax preparation process.

Unfortunately we cannot accept documents by video, as our volunteers need to verify your documents before we can begin preparing your return. If you do not feel comfortable with uploading your sensitive information, please visit us at an in-person site.

If you upload all your required documents at once and are available, our volunteers can have your return completed in as little as two days. However, there a few common reasons for delay:

• Missing or incorrect documents
• Missing ID
• Unclear or illegible photos of documents uploaded
• Missed communication from virtual tax volunteers
• Missing the appointment call with your tax preparer
• Beginning the virtual tax preparation process before you have received your W-2, 1099, or other tax forms

To ensure we can serve you as quickly and efficiently as possible, please only begin our virtual process once you have all the required documents, ensure you can take and upload clear photo of these items, check the online portal for new requests and information regularly (at least daily), and understand that delays will occur during times of high demand, such during the last few weeks of tax season.

The best way to keep in contact with your tax volunteer is to enable text alerts from GetYourRefund.org.

Please do not create a profile and begin uploading your documents until you have everything you need to file your taxes. We have limited availability on our online platform, so if we do not hear from you within a few days of opening your account, we will have to mark you as an inactive user. We do this to ensure as many people as possible can access our online services. Inactive users can reactivate their profile by uploading missing documentation or requesting reactivation.

We are likely to continue our virtual tax services into the summer of 2023. However, if you wish to file before the filing deadline, we strongly recommend that you upload all your documents by the first week of April. If you begin our virtual tax prep process or take steps to reactivate your profile during the final week of the filing season, please know that it is unlikely that we will be able to complete your return by the deadline.

We make every effort to provide our full catalog of virtual tax services for non-English and limited-English users, including multilingual volunteers and utilizing language interpretation tools like Language Line. However, if you have someone whom you trust who can help you with interpretation, we strongly recommend you include them in the process.

It’s possible. Please describe the situation in your intake document and inform the intake volunteer of your situation as soon as they contact you so we can determine how or if we can assist you.

Simple tax returns covered by MyFreeTaxes include W-2 Income, Limited Income interest, dividend income, student education expenses, unemployment income, student education credits, student loan interest, claiming the standard deduction, Earned Income Tax Credits, Child Tax Credit, and Child and dependent care expenses. A full list of forms included can be found here: MyFreeTaxes.com/Support.

Many returns that are typically in-scope and free at our in-person tax sites are not all included in the free software, for example, Self-Employment income (1099-MISC), Mortgage Interest, Real Estate Taxes, other Itemized Deductions, Third-Party Payments (1099-K), HSA, and many others. If you have these tax forms, you will have to purchase an upgrade to file with this system. However, you will receive a discount if using MyFreeTaxes.com. A full list of what is included in the free software can be found at MyFreeTaxes.com/Support.

You can find additional free filing tools via IRS Free File programs. Visit IRS.gov/FreeFile for more information and details.

You will need:

• An email address to create an account
• Your exact AGI from line 7 on Form 1040 of your 2022 tax return (to verify identity)
• SSN for everyone on the return
• All tax documents
• Bank account and routing number (for direct deposit/debit)

You can find it on line 7 of your 2022 tax return if you still have a copy of your return. If you filed your taxes at a United Way of King County Free Tax Prep site last year, please email freetax@uwkc.org and include your phone number so we can provide you with a copy of last year’s return. If you did not file with us last year, IRS.gov/get-transcript can help you retrieve a copy of last year’s tax return.

Unfortunately, United Way of King County cannot enter your information and tax documents into MyFreeTaxes.com on your behalf. If you’re interested in having your taxes done virtually by our local Free Tax Preparation team, please use our GetYourRefund option.

Anyone with an income under $73,000 can file for free using the IRS Free File program.

An ITIN, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, is a tax processing number issued by the IRS for US residents, their spouses, and/or dependents who are not eligible to receive a Social Security Number.

ITINs are used only for the purpose of filing taxes. The IRS issues ITINs to enable US residents without a Social Security Number to file their taxes.

You will need one document proving your foreign status, and one document proving your identity. Your passport is the best document you can bring, as it is proof of both your status and your identity. If you do not have a passport, please see below for a list of acceptable documents:

Although unfortunately many tax credits are only available to individuals with Social Security Numbers, in interacting with the tax system, ITIN holders can receive their tax refunds and qualify for some tax credits. Additionally, ITIN holders must file their taxes to renew their ITIN.

After mailing the required documents, it typically takes 4-6 weeks for the IRS to create or renew an ITIN. However, sometimes it may take longer due to IRS delays.

Our ITIN renewal service is free.

Many of our ITIN Certified Acceptance Agents speak Spanish or another language. We will also have translation services available, through LanguageLine.

Yes. However, if you would like to receive both tax prep help and ITIN assistance on the same day, please plan to arrive to your chosen tax site as early as possible.