Free tax preparation now available for households with income of $66,000 or less in 2023

Shortly before 10 a.m. on the first day of tax season, nearly two dozen people lined up inside the John Boner Neighborhood Center.  

Carla James, the center’s director of basic needs and systems integration, welcomed the crowd, walking them through the intake process and what forms they’d need to give their tax preparers: ID cards, child care receipts, rent and homeownership documents, among other things.  

“We are here to help,” she said.  

Indy Free Tax Prep, a program that provides free tax preparation services, opened for the 2024 season on Jan. 31. The program is available to people and families with a household income of $66,000 or less in 2023.  

Indy Free Tax Prep will run through mid-April in Boone, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties. Those seeking assistance can find a list of locations and instructions for signing up at indyfreetaxprep.com.     

United Way of Central Indiana has administered Indy Free Tax Prep since 2015. Over the last nine years, volunteers have prepared more than 44,000 tax returns, helping people get back more than $40 million.    

Among those waiting in line on the first day was John, who’s been getting his taxes done at the Boner Center for about a decade, he said.  

Most people aren’t good at doing their own taxes, and most places charge too much money – and still get it wrong, he said. But the volunteer preparers with Indy Free Tax Prep do his taxes correctly, he said.  

“It's a blessing,” John said. “Dealing with taxes can be stressful when you’ve got different deductions – and laws change. It gives me latitude to do some other things and let the professional people assist me in this area.” 

Indy Free Tax prep volunteers are certified by the IRS, so people can be confident their taxes are being handled properly, said Carla James, who serves as the Boner Center site coordinator and Marion County project manager for the program. The program also connects people to additional resources, such as financial services and education, she said.  

“We're able to return funds back to the taxpayers that they can use for their households,” James said. “We serve people who do get the earned income credit who might be struggling, who might have lower income, so every dollar that you can save someone and make sure that they get properly back on their tax return is going to help that household.” 

During last year’s Indy Free Tax Prep program, more than 120 IRS-certified volunteers prepared nearly 4,800 returns, helping taxpayers claim nearly $4.5 million in federal refunds and more than $1 million in earned income credit.    

United Way partners with the IRS, corporate partners, hundreds of volunteers and dozens of community organizations across Central Indiana to provide the program.    

Those with a household income of $79,000 or less who want to file online can use MyFreeTaxes.com.