For many hardworking households, getting a tax refund is a chance to catch up on bills and pay for basic needs. Some people qualify for tax credits, free tax help, and other programs that can imporve financial literacy.

There are free programs available to help qualified households receive assistance with their taxes and ensure they take advantage of the tax credits they qualify for, which are listed below. This is not an all-inclusive list. Please let us know of any other resources available to help with taxes this season or financial literacy! We would love to share with the community. Email us at outreach@weekly-volcano.com.

Unfortunately, one in five eligible workers do not claim important tax credits, such as: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). These tax credits can provide eligible households with monetary assistance. Let’s help our neighbors get access to this information.

Who qualifies for free tax help through these programs?

• Taxpayers earning $60,000 or less in adjusted gross income (AGI) qualify for help via Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA).

• Taxpayers earning less than $73,000 in adjusted gross income qualify for the free online IRS self-prep tool.

• Taxpayers over 50 years old who earn a low to moderate income qualify for AARP tax help.

 How to access the free tax help

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), AARP, and Tax Counseling fro the Elderly (TCE) programs provide free tax preparation services to thousands of moderate- and low-income Pierce County residents each year during the tax season. For appointments, call South Sound 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1, between February 8 and April 13. If you are outside of Washington State or have a problem dialing 2-1-1, please dial 877-211-9274. Call 888-227-7669 to locate the nearest AARP TCE Tax-Aide site between January and April. Dial 800-906-9887 to locate the nearest VITA or TCE site near you.

Pierce County Library

Visit a Pierce County Library for in person assistance by calling 1-844-545-5640 to schedule an appointment for the following locations/days/times:

Thursdays from 1pm to 6pm at Parkland/Spanaway Pierce County Library, 13718 Pacific Ave, Tacoma

Fridays from 12:30pm to 4:30pm at Fife Pierce County Library, 6622 20th St E, Fife

Saturdays from 10:30am to 3:30pm at Parkland/Spanaway Pierce County Library, 13718 Pacific Ave, Tacoma

Tacoma Public Library: Moore Library will host VITA Fridays from 10:30am to 2:30pm with limited on-site appointments

If you are unable to make an appointment, VITA may have a limited number of walk-in appointments at Moore Library. This may not mean a same-day appointment, but that you can make an appointment for a later time or date. The Moore Library staff kindly maintains a waiting room for patrons, even those with appointments. If you drive, you may notice limited parking, as this service is in high demand.

Additional tax help

In addition to remote tax assistance and by-appointment community tax help sites notes above, you can request a tax assistance appointment at the local Tacoma-area IRS Office at 1301 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 4:40pm by appointment. Extended hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30am -8:30am and from 4:30pm - 6:00pm 1/23 - 4/16 Call 1-844-545-640 to schedule an appointment. Services available.

Want to do your own taxes or get help from a volunteer?

Both Tacoma Public Library and Pierce County Library provide free computer access and a weekly printing credit for library card holders. The library provides free guest passes for computers for non-cardholders. Tacoma Library locations have 1040/1040 SR booklets from the IRS available. Pierce County Libraries have a selection of free forms, and instructions available at most library locations from late February through the tax deadline, while supplies last You can call your local library to request a print pick up appointment for a specific tax form. https://getyourrefund,org.en

Do your own taxes with phone support from a volunteer —or send copies of documents electronically, and a volunteer can do your taxes for you remotely. For households with incomes up to $66,000.

https://myfreetaxes.com Use this free website for households whose income up to $66,000 to complete your taxes—brought to you by United Way Worldwide.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free Check out this service for people who know how to prepare their own tax forms. Brand-name tax software or online fillable forms, plus electronic filing is available.

Need tax forms? https://www.irs.gov/forms-pub/order-products Print the additional forms and instructions from the IRS website. https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/forms-subject Print state tax forms.

Financial Assistance

Financial Resources

2-1-1 Washington: 2-1-1 is a free confidential community service and your one-stop connection to the local services you need, from utility assistance, food, housing, health, childcare, after school programs. elder care, crisis intervention and much more. The service operators at 2-1-1 are always ready to assist you in finding the help you need. Dial the three digit number 2-1-1 on your phone, or visit WA211.org. If you are outside of Washington State or have problems dialing the number, call 877-211-9274.

Financial Education

If you do not know where to start learning about finances and financial literacy, there are resources that can help. Financial education programs featured on www.findhelp.org:

• Education Opportunity Center, Metropolitian Development Council 253-680-3000

• Employment and Education, Tacoma Rescue Mission 253-383-4493

• Key to Change, Goodwill of Olympics & Rainier Region 253-573-6500

• Youth Program, WorkSource Washington 253-593-7300

• Credit Counseling and Education, American Financial Solutions 888-202-1121

• Financial Coaching for People with Disabilities, Northwest Access Fund 206-328-5116

• Credit Counseling Services 866-889-9347

• Debt Management Plan, Money Management International (MMI) 866-889-9347

• Money Canvas, Thrivent 800-847-4836

• Hope Coalition America, Operation Hope 410-657-5242

• Debt Management Plan Counseling, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corps 800-527-7595

• Personal Finance Education, Credit Counseling 866-210-3589

• Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline, (HPF) Homeownership Preservation Foundation 888-995-4673

Program Highlight: Sound Outreach

Sound Outreach offers a variety of services, including financial coaching and financial empowerment programs. Sound Outreach’s mission is to empower Pierce County residents to achieve their financial dreams through an integrated model of coaching and counseling to secure personal financial security. Sound Outreach’s vision is that all Pierce County residents posess the ability and confidence to build financial security, grow generational wealth and create prosperity.

Get coaching for your wallet

Sound Outreach puts consumers in charge of their money by teaching them how to use these products to build wealth and credit. This organization goes beyond financial education by matching underbanked consumers who have lower income and/or poor credit with checking accounts and loan products that can help them to build credit and break unhealthy financial cycles.

Sound Outreach has a network of trained financial coaches, embedded in organizations throughout Pierce County and available directly from our facility, to provide long-term financial coaching.

Sound Outreach’s financial coaches are provided with the training required to become AFCPE-certified, the highest certification for financial counseling. Using techniques to help you improve your financial life, your coach will work with you to identify problems and prevent the collections and charge-offs that have a negative effect on your credit score. Your coach is also trained to help you deal with financial crises.

Get one-on-one coaching

A financial coaching session is one hour long and can help you:

• Make a budget - Write down your monthly spending and create a budget. It is important to know exactly where your money goes in order to create a realistic plan to build wealth.

• Get a credit report - Get to know and understand your credit report. Then you can plan to build credit and increase your score.

• Assess your financial health - Look at the numbers, assess your overall financial health and discuss how you feel about your finances.

• Build your financial vision - Establish your short-term and long-term financial goals and figure out the first steps toward attaining them.

Make an appointment with a financial coach: http://soundoutreach.org/about/team For more information contact: Director of Financial Counseling Tim Jumper tim@soundoutreach.org, 253-719-3789

Please consider sharing your resources with your community and engaging in mutual aid. Together we can be the difference in our communities.