Philly Coalition Providing Tax Help For Those In Need
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A coalition of groups is banding together to help needy families file their taxes for free.
United Way, Walmart, and the Campaign for Working Families will be hosting free tax preparation sites around the city through April, to help low-income residents prepare their state and federal returns.
Khadijah Jones (right), director of the Campaign for Working Families, says preparers will suggest that anyone making under $57,000 last year go to myfreetaxes.com for a user-friendly program.
"It asks you questions like how many people are in your household," Jones explains. "And if you say four it pops out the answer for you. So you don't necessarily need the tax knowledge, you just need to know your income, how many people are in your household, and follow the W-2 in front of you," she told KYW Newsradio.
If you don't have access to a computer, the coalition will crunch the numbers for you.
Clifton Roy, a volunteer, enjoys helping people with their tax forms and finds the biggest obstacle is fear.
"They're not familiar with doing their own taxes. They think it's a big giant they can't conquer, so when they come in we try to make them real comfortable," he said.
Reported by Lynne Adkins, KYW Newsradio 1060.
