Before the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) begins preparing for the 2017 tax season, we wanted to share our 2016 results. In 2016, the OFE’s Boston Tax Help Coalition operated 37 free tax preparation sites throughout Boston. These sites opened in late January and served residents through April 19, 2016. We served 12,843 taxpayers and returned $24.5 million in tax refunds. We also saved Boston families the money they would otherwise have spent on a paid tax preparer
| Refunds and Credits Received: | Who Participates? | Returning $$ to families and the community: |
| § Total Refunds: $24,517,597.00
§ Total Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC): $8,794,763.69 |
§ 12,843 taxpayers served
§ 314 IRS-certified volunteer Tax Preparers § 58 Financial Guide volunteers § 37 Tax Site Coordinators |
§ Estimated total amount taxpayers saved by avoiding commercial tax preparation (approximately $200/family):
$2.6 million |
In 2016, the Boston Tax Help Coalition also provided the Financial Check-Up (FCU) at eight tax sites to 3,496 low- and moderate-income taxpayers, using volunteer Financial Guides trained by OFE staff. This light-touch, individualized intervention provided 2,437 taxpayers with a credit report review and a plan to improve their credit score.
We urge you to join us in 2017! If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please check our website for more information in November. If you would like to receive free tax preparation in 2017, a full list of sites will be available in late 2016 at bostontaxhelp.org.