Where to Get Free Help Filing Your Taxes
11 different options in metro Milwaukee.
Form 1040. Photo by ‘PT Money’ (ptmoney.com). (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Milwaukee residents can access tax prep help for free through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program.
Certified VITA volunteers can file state and federal tax returns for households with an income of about $67,000 or less and people who have disabilities or limited English-speaking abilities.
Since appointments can fill up quickly and may require a few weeks of work, check out the options before the April 15 tax-filing deadline.
View VITA sites by location at the IRS Free Tax Prep Help website. Find a list of documents to bring here.
AARP Tax-Aide sites
For adults age 50 and older or those who have low to moderate income, the IRS’s Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, program is another option for free tax help.
Many TCE sites are operated by the AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program at local senior centers and libraries. Find a site with the Tax-Aide site locator.
Here’s where you can find free tax prep locations around Milwaukee
Riverworks Development Corp.
Riverworks Development Corp., 518 E. Concordia Ave., hosts VITA services through its financial clinic until Saturday, March 15. In-person appointments are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
There is also an online option for clients to submit tax documents, and past Riverworks VITA clients can schedule a time to drop off documents between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursdays.
Schedule an appointment by calling 414-882-7430 or visiting the Riverworks website.
La Casa de Esperanza
La Casa de Esperanza will offer VITA appointments from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during tax season in Milwaukee at YMCA Southeast Wisconsin, 1915 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The Waukesha VITA site, 134 Wisconsin Ave., also has appointments available from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
La Casa works with English, Spanish and bilingual speakers. Schedule an appointment online or call 262-832-1534.
Social Development Commission
The Social Development Commission is not currently operating a VITA site, but is working on launching the program.
“It is SDC’s every intention to get VITA back up and running ASAP,” said Jorge Franco, SDC’s interim CEO and chair of the Board of Commissioners.
The recently reopened agency is seeking approval from the IRS to use VITA program software and is attempting to secure funding for the program, according to Franco and Diane Robinson, SDC’s executive director.
Prime Financial Credit Union
Prime Financial Credit Union is providing in-person VITA appointments at two locations through April 10.
The Northwest branch, 4878 N. Swan Road, is scheduling appointments from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and the Walker’s Point branch, 225 W. Greenfield Ave., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Appointment slots are limited and can be scheduled on Prime Financial’s website or by calling 414-486-4500.
St. Francis of Assisi
VITA appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saturdays of Feb. 22, March 8, March 22, April 5 and April 12 at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 1937 N. Vel R Phillips Ave. Call 414-376-8124 to schedule an appointment or find out more information.
Greater Mt. Sinai COGIC
The VITA site at Greater Mt. Sinai Church Of God In Christ, 5384 N. 60th St., is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. No appointment is required.
Chayil Inc.
VITA services are available by appointment from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday at Chayil Inc., 2745 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 206. Call 414-687-7560 or schedule an appointment online.
Milwaukee Area Technical College Oak Creek
Residents can upload tax documents online or drop them off in person at MATC’s Oak Creek Campus VITA clinic on Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. through April 1 at the Administration Building main lobby, 6665 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek. No appointments are required, but clients will need to pick up their documents at a later date.
Student volunteers speak a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, Hindi, Punjabi, Hmong, Karenni, Karen, Burmese, Ukrainian, Urdu and Russian.
Mobile VITA sites
ThriveOn King
JobsWork MKE is offering free tax preparation services through the VITA program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at ThriveOn King, 2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
Here’s how to get free tax help in Milwaukee was originally published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
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