GREAT FALLS— Rural Dynamics Inc. and Tax Help Montana are helping people file their returns for free. On February 23, Tax Help Montana and a team of AmeriCorps volunteers held a 12-hour “Tax-a-thon.” From 9:00 a.m. Saturday until 9:00 Saturday night, they prepared state and federal taxes free of charge at the Great Falls Senior Center.
Program Manager Chastity Roofner said that last year Tax Help Montana kept $22 million in people’s pockets through refunds and free preparation. This year, the program aims to help more than 6,000 people work through their taxes.
“A lot of people may not understand the forms that they have, and a lot of people go to paid preparers but they might be struggling to make ends meet and so being able to come here is like a burden that they don’t have to worry about just by having somebody help them do it for free,” said Rebecca Case, AmeriCorps NCCC volunteer.
If you did not get your taxes done at the Tax-a-thon, you can still get free help. Volunteers keep regular hours at several Great Falls locations and have scheduled events in many outlaying communities.
“We are adding sites all the time we will be in Havre, Conrad, Browning, so these are sites that we’re adding as we’re going, so if it’s not available in their community, it certainly can be,” said Roofner. For a list of times and locations to get your taxes done you can follow this link.
In order to qualify for free tax preparation, you must have combined income less than $55,000 in the tax year. In addition, there are other situations that are outside the VITA scope of service. Click here for qualifications. No matter which tax site you visit here is a list of what to bring to your tax preparer.
For each person listed on the return, bring:
- Social Security Card or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) card or letter.
- Birth Date
- Prior year’s tax return
- Valid picture I.D.
Income Statement or Forms:
- Wages from each job (W-2)
- Interest (Form 1099-INT)
- Dividends (Form 1099-DIV)
- Retirement Plans (Form 1099-R)
- Gambling Winnings (Form W-2G)
- Unemployment (Form 1099-G)
- Social Security Benefits (Form SSA)
- Miscellaneous Income (Form 1099-MISC)
- Sales of stock (Form 1099-B)
- Affordable Health Care Statements (Forms 1095 -A, B, or C)
-Reported by Joe Huisinga/MTN News
