Over the last two Saturday's a group of Northland Free Tax Assistance volunteers attended a full day of Basic and/or Advanced tax preparation training while other volunteers prepared to become greeters and screeners! Some practiced their skills using the IRS TaxWise software on computers at the site while others practiced on their home computers.
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Northland Free Tax Assistance opened it's doors last week serving many folks with free tax preparation and e-filing! Thanks to our outstanding volunteers for ensuring we were focused on the wonderful clients we were able to serve on our first day
We want to remind future clients that they need to arrive with the following items to have their returns prepared:
This tip is modified from IRS Newswire Issue Number IR-2015-17. The Internal Revenue Service is partnering with Northland Free Tax Assistance help tax payers who are eligible, receive their Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a significant tax credit that can be as much as $6,000, with the average amount reaching $2,400. We realize that about 4 of five eligible workers and families receive the credit they earned leaving millions missing EITC every year. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen states that “It’s an important credit and one of the government’s best tools to fight poverty.”
The amount of EITC varies depending on income, family size and filing status. Those who work for someone else or those who run a business or farm and who earned $52,427 or less during 2014 could receive larger refunds if they qualify for the EITC. This could mean up to $496 in EITC for people without children, and a maximum credit of up to $6,143 for those with three or more qualifying children. The EITC is refundable. This means those eligible may get a refund from the IRS even if they owe no tax or had no taxes withheld from their paycheck. The volunteers at Northland Free Tax Assistance will help you those eligible for the EITC file electronically. This year we want to remind our clients who bought coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace to bring a copy of their Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement. Also, just a reminder that taxpayers are responsible for the accuracy of their tax return even if someone else prepares it for them. The rules for EITC are complicated. Lastly, taxpayers should reply promptly to any letter from the IRS requesting additional information about EITC. If taxpayers need assistance or have questions, they should call the number on the IRS letter. Today's blog is adapted from IRS Newswire Issue Number IR-2015-15 Each year, millions of people have their taxes prepared for free. At Flagstaff's Northland Free Tax Assistance, an IRS approved Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Office, many of the volunteers have been helping Flagstaff residents for the past eight years. Here are some tips from the about this year's program: 1. Trained and Certified. Northland Free Tax Assistance volunteers have all been trained and certified by the IRS. 2. VITA Program. VITA generally offers free tax return preparation to people who earn $53,000 or less - this year Northland Free Tax Assistance will serve clients who earn up to $58,000. 3. Free E-file. Northland Free Tax Assistance provides free electronic filing. E-filing is the safest, most accurate way to file your tax return. Combining e-file with direct deposit is the fastest way to get your refund! 4. Tax Benefits. Northland Free Tax Assistance will help you get all the tax benefits for which you are eligible. For example, you may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Credit for the Elderly. You can also get help with the new Health Care Law tax provisions. 5. FlagstaffSites. Northland Free Tax Assistance partners with the IRS to offer free tax services at thousands of sites around the nation. Our site opens January 31 at 0900 at 4000 North Cummings St., Flagstaff AZ 86004. Call us at (928) 221-4977, e-mail us at [email protected] for an appointment or just drop in! (These tips were tailored from IRS Tax Tip 2015-06) IR-2014-105, Oct. 31, 2014
WASHINGTON — As incidents of an aggressive telephone scam continue across the country, the Internal Revenue Service unveiled a new YouTube video with a renewed warning to taxpayers not to be fooled by imposters posing as tax agency representatives. The new Tax Scams video describes some basic tips to help protect taxpayers from tax scams. These callers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request. “In recent weeks, we continue to see these telephone scams in every part of the country,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “We have formal processes in place for people with tax issues. The IRS respects taxpayer rights, and these angry, shake-down calls are clear warning signs of fraud. This is not how we do business. We urge people to be careful when they get these threatening phone calls.” The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
Additional information about tax scams is available on IRS social media sites, including YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/user/irsvideos and Tumblr http://internalrevenueservice.tumblr.com, where people can search “scam” to find all the scam-related posts. After 10 months of preparation, Northland Free Tax Assistance is ready to open its doors for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in partnership with the IRS. Last year, VITA sites prepared and electronically filed 3.3 million returns with the assistance of 92,000 volunteers, all at no cost to the taxpayers. The income limit of $58,000 per household means that VITA sites are assisting low and moderate income families not only complete their obligation to file their returns, but also make sure that the taxpayer gets ALL of the tax credits they are eligible for. The IRS reports that millions of dollars are not claimed in Coconino County alone. That is money that can help local families and boost the local economy. We help get those credits to eligible people in our community! Our site is open at 9am and we now take appointments as well as walk-ins for our tax preparation services. We have a great group of experienced and certified preparers to complement the Board which has 6-8 years experience in tax site operations. The IRS has extensive requirements for VITA sites as far as confidentiality, quality of returns, ethics, and non-discrimination. Come on in and get your taxes done and receive your refunds generally in about 14 days if you have a bank or credit union account. Northland Free Tax Assistance volunteers are excited to start the tax season by offering clients the option of drop-in services or the option to make an appointment! For drop in, just show up at the Christensen School between 9-3 on any Saturday between January 18 and April 12th. To make an appointment, call us at (928) 221-4977, Contact Us or e-mail us at [email protected]. You must hear back from us to confirm the appointment. Plan to arrive 20 minutes before your appointment to fill out the required intake sheet and to be screened to be sure you have all your required documents and to determine what level of preparer is needed to complete your taxes. See the “What do I bring” link in the Clients Section of our WEB page to see a list of documents to bring. We look forward to helping you complete your taxes starting this Saturday! Welcome Volunteers to Northland Free Tax Assistance in Flagstaff, AZ. We are offering free tax assistance to clients in Northern Arizona on Saturdays starting on January 18, 2014. We will be providing services every Saturday during tax season at the FUSD Family Resource Center (formerly Christensen Elementary).
Training for volunteers are the first two Saturdays in January at the Flagstaff Unified School District Administration Office. We will also have a Sunday open session at the Family Resource Center on Sunday the 12th of January. The January 4th training is for Greeters, Screeners, and Preparers. The training starts at 9:00 am at FUSD Administration Building at 3285 East Sparrow Ave. The January 11th training is for Advanced preparers, people who would like extra computer practice, or to complete their testing. Practice, testing, and extra support are also available on Sunday the 12th of January. We look forward to a great tax season this year. |
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