Free Tax Season Help

Greetings Patchers!

There's a wide variety of income tax assistance help available for the general public every tax season made available by the IRS and the California FTB for taxpayers. I wanted to share with everyone some of the options available if you require free help in preparing and filing your taxes that some might not know about.

You might already qualify!

VITA/TCE

Vita stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and TCE stands for Tax Counseling for the Elderly. It's both a free program that helps taxpayers file their federal (and state) income taxes for free!

If you made under $50,000 (or $100,000 jointly married) you already qualify for help under VITA! If you're over the age of 60, you qualify for TCE! Get IRS-trained volunteers (some of who are tax professionals like myself) to help you file your individual incomes for FREE.

Here is more information from the IRS.

California Online Filing Options

The California Franchise Tax Board offers two free e-filing options at the state level if you do not qualify for TCE/VITA.

You can check your eligibility here.

CalFile generally is for simple original returns, and I can't quote what the eligibility for Ready Return is off the top of my head - however checking eligibility is as easy as typing in your social security number and name directly at the FTB website via the link I posted.

I personally filed myself using CalFile, and received my California refund in less than two weeks!

Take advantage of the free e-filing opportunities offered by California FTB and the IRS today!

I currently work as a tax auditor for the Franchise Tax Board for corporate multi-state tax. I formerly participated as a volunteer for TCE/VITA myself, and find it to be an extremely helpful program. I'm always surprised by how many folks out there don't know about this great program. Contact your local site and schedule your tax appointment today.