Jackson County United Way, in partnership with the Jackson County Public Library, is once again offering free tax preparation.
This is the 10th year for the program, which opened Feb. 1.
The Free Income Tax Assistance program provides free income tax preparation services to hundreds of families and individuals in the county with a household income of $66,000 or less.
It’s located at the library, 303 W. Second St., Seymour.
Over the past 10 years, the program has helped 2,863 Jackson County residents reclaim more than $2.3 million.
Tonja Couch, executive director of Jackson County United Way, said the program has grown over the years to be more than a free tax preparation service.
Volunteers focus on sharing information with residents that will stabilize their financial footing for the new year.
This year, a few changes have been made to the program to increase confidentiality and expand capacity to serve more residents.
Longtime volunteers and IRS-certified preparers Crystal Jones and Jennifer Harris joined Couch in early summer to look at another community’s free tax prep sites to see what improvements could be made and how to expand the number of people served.
Jones, the volunteer FITA coordinator this year, built a plan to increase the number of residents served, provided a new drop-and-go service and increased the financial wellness education residents receive.
“Once we took a look at how other programs were running, we knew we had to scale their work but could increase the opportunity to serve more residents,” Jones said.
One part of the change was to provide a pilot on-site tax preparation program at three local factories. Employees at Aisin USA Mfg. Inc., Excel Manufacturing and Home Products International took part in the free service provided by United Way volunteers.
“We knew by focusing our efforts early, we could potentially save some employees from using a rapid refund preparer and save nearly $300 to $400,” Jones said. “We are excited with our pilot year, and we were able to serve 10 taxpayers at these sites.”
Another change to this year’s program includes how residents are asked to schedule assistance with tax preparation.
Appointments can be made online at jacsy.org/free-taxes or by calling 812-522-5450, ext. 1. With large numbers of people calling, some may need to leave a voicemail. The messages will be returned as soon as possible in the order they are received.
The program will run through April 12 at the library.
The final program change is focused on simplifying the tax preparation process.
“Once a resident comes into the library, completes the basic paper work and meets one-on-one with an IRS-certified tax preparer, they can leave their tax documents and pick up the finalized preparation another day, not having to wait around at the library,” Jones said.
She said county residents also can prepare and file their own taxes online at myfreetaxes.com.
In addition to the free tax filing help, tax filers will be offered basic financial wellness education, so the benefits will last long past tax filing season.
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Required items for tax filing assistance
Household income of $66,000 or less per year
Government-issued photo identification
Both spouses must be present to sign required forms (if filing jointly)
Social Security card for each family member
Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
Any W-2, 1099 and 1098 forms and all other income information
A copy of last year’s tax return
Deduction and credit information
Health care coverage information (Form 1095-A, 1095-B, 1095-C, as applicable)
Banking information for direct deposit, including bank routing and account numbers
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