Free Tax Services Return to Maximize Refunds for Boston Residents

Mayor Michelle Wu today announced that the Boston Tax Help Coalition (BTHC) will again offer free tax preparation services to Boston residents earning $60,000 or less a year. The BTHC and its community partners are providing tax services remotely and in-person at over 30 neighborhood tax sites. Residents can file safely while maximizing their refunds and credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit. Tax preparation assistance is available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, French, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. The schedule can be found by visiting bostontaxhelp.org or calling 3-1-1.  

"Boston residents can save hundreds of dollars per household through the Boston Tax Help Coalition’s free tax preparation,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “These free, multilingual tax assistance services are available across thirty locations and remotely serve as a valuable resource that supports thousands of Boston residents in maximizing their refunds safely. I encourage every qualified Boston resident to take advantage of this model program.”

Part of the Center for Working Families, a department in the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, the Boston Tax Help Coalition has served approximately 193,000 households and returned over $348 million dollars in tax credits and refunds since its creation. The program allows residents to keep more of their earned income and maximizes the impact of their tax credits by eliminating tax preparation fees. Tax preparers assess filers’ eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a credit for low- and middle-income workers, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Both credits greatly reduce poverty for working families by providing a financial boost. As of December 2022, 31 million eligible workers and families have received an estimated $64 billion in EITC with an average return of $2,043 nationwide. 

"All qualified Bostonians should take advantage of the Boston Tax Help Coalition's free tax preparation in order to maximize their refund and receive the tax credits due to them," said Trinh Nguyen, Chief of Worker Empowerment. "The Coalition's partners and volunteers are IRS-trained and are providing a valuable service to our residents at locations conveniently located in Boston neighborhoods. Congratulations to the Coalition as it enters its 22nd year!"

“Often, receiving a tax refund is people's first step toward household budgeting and building family wealth,” said Urban Edge CEO Emilio Dorcely. “As part of the Boston Tax Help Coalition, Urban Edge has been a trusted and reliable place where hundreds of families in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain can go for free tax preparation and filing services each year. We applaud the City of Boston and Mayor Wu for their citywide efforts in providing this vital service to Boston residents.”

“ABCD is proud to be a longstanding partner of the Boston Tax Help Coalition and kicking off a new tax year with the Mayor and others once again,” said ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler. “Free tax preparation services fight poverty by channeling money directly back into the hands of residents and under resourced communities. People have an opportunity, they don’t often have, to take a lump sum of their hard earned cash and pay off debts or save toward things like buying a house or furthering education. With extraordinarily high food and energy prices today, they are also able to help meet immediate needs like rent and transportation.”

The Boston Tax Help Coalition continues to serve the Disability community through a partnership with Deaf, Inc. and this year is adding a Visually Impaired People (VIP) tax preparation pilot. On Wednesdays in February, the VIP program will provide accommodations to visually impaired residents receiving tax preparation services at the Center for Working Families in Nubian Square. More information can be found at boston.gov/vip-pilot. 

“The City of Boston prioritizes equity in all of its programs and services, and access for people with disabilities is a key piece of that,” said Boston Disability Commissioner Kristen McCosh. “The Blind/Low Vision pilot program is building on the work we’ve done to ensure that tax prep services are accessible and inclusive of all Boston residents.”

In addition to tax preparation, the Boston Tax Help Coalition connects residents to other free financial services to improve their financial health. Of note, Bank On Boston helps residents identify banking services that are safe, affordable, and non-predatory and the Financial Check-Up provides residents with a one-on-one session with trained Financial Guides who review their credit score and provide personalized credit-building strategies. Boston Saves, the City of Boston’s children’s savings account program, is offering eligible BPS families a $25 incentive into their child's account for getting free tax preparation and a Financial Check-Up through BTHC. More information on the Boston Tax Help Coalition’s free tax services can be found at bostontaxhelp.org.