Mar. 19, 2007 - Tax help for seniors, low and middle income residents

Free Help Filing Taxes

You still have time to make an appointment to get your income taxes prepared for free. Somerset County volunteers are trained and certified to prepare taxes for seniors, low and middle-income taxpayers.  They will prepare your federal and state income taxes for you at no charge.  Volunteers with laptops may be available to do taxes at shut-ins’ homes. 

All volunteers also will help you fill out your Property Tax Rebate application and apply for your Telephone Excise Tax Refund, even if you don’t have to file a federal or state income tax return. 

The specially trained volunteers enter taxpayers’ pertinent information into a computer; the returns are automatically prepared and sent to the federal and state IRS service centers. 

Call (908) 541-5710 to make an appointment to have one of the county’s 32 volunteers prepare your taxes.  Be sure to tell the operator if you want to e-file your return.  Electronic filing means you will get your refund in two to three weeks.  Using direct deposit gets your refund to you in the shortest possible time. 

Once the return is accepted by the IRS, usually overnight, all financial information is deleted from the local computer.  In the meantime it is secured in a locked room on a password-protected computer.

For all who choose to go it alone, the IRS provides everything you might need to file your taxes online and for free.