Need Help With Tax Preparation?
If you need help with figuring out how to do your [tag]taxes[/tag] and you make less than a certain amount of money ($40,000 usually) there may be programs to help you prepare your taxes for free. The best part is that if you are want to learn they will teach you instead of just doing it for you.
In Colorado the pilot program, called [tag]Tax Help Colorado[/tag], begins this year (2008) for people doing their 2007 income taxes. Currently, it is only offered at the Community College of Aurora but they are looking to expand it next year.
The way the program works is that students at the college take a tax course in the fall and then volunteer to run the tax center in the Spring of 2008. They get college credit and get to help people at the same time. That’s what I always like to see: a win-win situation.
The Colorado program is modeled after a successful program in New Mexico called Tax Help New Mexico, but there are many programs like this nationwide. Keep in mind any program like this should be FREE. Free means no up front charges especially, but also no percentage of your refund.
Avoid Scams! This program is FREE. There is no charge, no fee, no percentage of your refund, nothing. If someone is trying to charge you any amount of money for any reason you are not dealing with this program, but instead a scam that is trying to look like this program. Another version of the scam is a “free” service to do your taxes and then offer to give you your refund faster. What they do is like a paycheck or payday loan. They give you the money you will get from the [tag]IRS[/tag] now in exchange for a fee. It will look like this: Your refund is supposed to be $342. The will give you a check now for $311 and then you sign the IRS refund check over to them when you get it. Doesn’t sound so bad you say? That’s a 10% charge on money you are essentially being loaned for a period of less than 2 months. If you do the math that is an interest rate of somewhere over 60%! A bad deal indeed.
If you offer a program similar to this one and would like a link on this site, email me or post in the comments.
Links to Programs:
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