Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
(LITC)
Choosing a Tax Return
Preparer
If you plan to pay a
preparer, please review the
Before Choosing a Tax Return
Preparer
Inform yourself of credits (e.g. EITC)
you may be eligible for and new rules for taxpayers
The Coalition for Family Economic
Progress provides free workshops in
Choosing a Tax Return
Preparer
Tip #1 – A Paid Preparer is required by
law to sign your return and fill in the preparer areas of the form
Your preparer should also include
Choosing a Tax Return
Preparer
Tip #2 – Please review your completed
return to ensure all tax information as well as your name, address, and Social Security Number(s) are correct
Tip #3 – Before you sign, review
Choosing a Tax Return
Preparer
Tip #4 – Never sign a blank return and
never sign in pencil
Tip #5 – Do not allow your preparer to
place your refund within their account
Please remember: You are responsible
How We Can Help
We encourage you to use our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to prepare your return This service is
What is the VITA Program?
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) program offers free tax help for people with low to moderate incomes (generally $49,000 and below)
VITA volunteers receive training by the
What is the VITA Program?
For your convenience, there are VITA
sites situated throughout El Paso
All of our VITA sites provide e-filing
and bilingual assistance
With us, you can receive your refund in
What Do I Need To Bring to
the VITA Site?
When you visit the
VITA site please bring:
Proof of identification Social Security cards
for you, your spouse, and your dependents
Birth dates for you,
your spouse, and your dependents
Form W-2, W-2G, and
1099
A copy of last year’s
return
Bank routing number
and account number for Direct Deposit
Total paid for daycare
provider and the
Keep In Mind
Set aside a fair amount of time to prepare
your return
VITA volunteers wish to ensure your return
is properly completed; their questions will help determine your qualifications for
certain credits
You have rights as a taxpayer
Additional Options
In addition to
VITA, you may file your return
through:
A qualified tax
professional or
The IRS Free File
Caution
Hiring an
unqualified tax
preparer may cause you to pay more tax than you should
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
The following suggestions seek to help
you find a qualified tax professional
Avoid preparers who claim they can
obtain larger refunds than other preparers
Beware of preparers who guarantee
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
Understand that the most reputable
preparers will request to see your receipts and will ask you multiple questions to determine your
qualifications for expenses and
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
Choose a preparer you will be able to contact
and one who will be responsive to your needs
Avoid firms where your return may be given
to someone with less training
Ask who will prepare your return. You
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
Determine if the preparer is exporting your
return to a foreign country for preparation. (Foreign countries don’t have the same
security and privacy laws as the U.S.)
Investigate the status of your preparer by
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
Determine if the preparer’s credentials
meet your needs. Is your preparer an Enrolled Agent, a Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) or a Tax Attorney
Note: Only attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled
Hiring a Qualified Tax
Professional
Find out if the preparer is affiliated
with a professional organization that provides/requires its members to
pursue continuing education and holds them accountable to a code of ethics
Visit IRS.gov for information
IRS Free File
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
provides eligible taxpayers (those with an adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less) a way to prepare and file their return electronically
Their Free File program is a fast, easy,
IRS Free File
Free File is a useful tool that
Asks simple questions
Does all the math for you Checks for accuracy
Provides access to federal tax forms and
schedules
IRS Free File
Please visit IRS.gov
Wait! I Need to Make a
Change to my Return
Please don’t become anxious if you
committed a mistake
Usually, math errors are caught in the
process
If you didn’t attach a required
Changing My Return
If you didn’t report all your income or
didn’t claim a credit, please file an amended or corrected return using Form 1040X, Amended U.S.
Changing My Return
When you file an amended or
corrected return, please include copies of any schedules that have changed
Generally, to claim a refund, Form
1040X must be received within three years from when the form was filed
Please allow 8-12 weeks for the IRS to
After Filing Your Return…
The following are suggestions for once
you have filed your return:
Consider how you will use your refund.
You may wish to save a portion for an emergency
Consider whether you were satisfied with
After Filing Your Return…
Store your documents, including your
W-2 and your 1099, within a safe place. You may wish to scan your documents and
save them unto a CD
View the progress of your refund by
visiting IRS.gov
Keep in mind that life events such as
getting married, having a child, and
Using Your Refund: El Paso
Affordable Housing and You
El Paso Affordable
Housing seeks to help you develop family wealth and financial stability
The following
Using Your Refund…
You may wish to use your refund to
pay off debt. If you don’t know where to start, our Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) can help
You can begin saving by opening a
Using Your Refund…
Want to purchase a new home? Apply
a part or all of your refund for a down payment and use the El Paso Credit Union’s down payment assistance to finance your home
Whatever you choose, we hope we can
Remember…
If it sounds too
good to be true,
chances are it isn’t true
Don’t fall victim to
Being Alert: Scams
Unfortunately, there are some people
who use the IRS name or logo to try to gain access to your financial
information in order to steal your identity and assets
These people or scammers will use
Am I a Target for Scams?
If you have a
computer, phone, or fax machine you could receive a
Watch for Phishing
Phishing is a scam where scammers
fish for information and try to hook
their victims
These scams often take the form of an
Watch for Phishing
Phishing scams may also ask you to
open an attachment or click on a link. This may lead you to a form to be filled online or a bogus website
Clicking the link may download
Watch for Callers
Do not give sensitive personal and/or
financial information over the phone
If someone claiming to be an IRS
Agent asks for your information,
The IRS and Scams
Generally, the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) does not send unsolicited emails to taxpayers
Furthermore, the IRS does not discuss tax
information via email or use email to ask for sensitive financial and personal information
In addition, the IRS does not request PIN
The IRS and Scams
Please note that the official website for
the Internal Revenue Service is
IRS.gov and that all IRS.gov web pages will begin with http://www.irs.gov/
Please be wary of websites that end
How to Spot a Scam
Many email scams
are fairly
sophisticated and hard to detect
Nevertheless, there
How to Spot a Scam
Be wary of an email that:
Requests detailed or an unusual amount
of personal and/or financial information (e.g. your name, your SSN, bank account number, or credit card number)
Dangles bait to get you to respond, such
How to Spot a Scam
Threatens a consequence if you don’t
respond, such as additional taxes or blocking access to your funds
Misspells the name of the agency
Uses incorrect grammar or odd phrasing Uses a really long address in a link or one
What To Do
If you receive a
suspicious email claiming to come from the IRS you should: Avoid clicking on any attachments Avoid clicking on any links Forward the suspicious email or url address to the IRS mailbox:
What To Do
If you believe you or someone you
know may be a victim of identity theft or another scam, please visit the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s website for guidance
You may also use the El Paso Police
Department’s Identity Theft Victim’s
Keep In Mind
El Paso Affordable Housing
Wants you to receive your complete
refund and avoid paying preparation fees
Wants to protect you from abusive tax
preparers
Wants to protect your personal and
Thank You!
El Paso Affordable Housing
A Credit Union Service Organization El Paso, Texas 79925
