Tax time is here, and a program funded by the Internal Revenue Service can help you do your taxes for free.
The program is headed by Miami Tax Pros in Miami-Dade County, which is divided among a group of 30 nonprofits, like Branches Church in Florida City and the United Way.
"Last year we were able to put about $2 million back into the community in refunds so we want to be able to increase those numbers by being able to get the word out to more people in the county," said Nydia Alvarez, who is a financial coach and associate manager at Branches.
The program is staffed by people trained in tax laws with the latest updates in child tax credits and stimulus checks.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
"You do not pay taxes on the advanced child tax credit or the child tax credit, that is a refundable credit from the IRS that you do not have to pay taxes on, and you also do not have to pay any taxes on the stimulus payments that you received," Alvarez said.
To take advantage of this free tax preparation program, you need to qualify by having an income of $58,000 or less, being 60 years old or older, having limited English language fluency, having a disability or suffering hardship.
A hardship can be a loss of employment because of Covid-19 or any other situation that had a negative impact on income.
Local
Taxes can be done in person with or without contact and also be done virtually with a Zoom consultation and emails.
There are 17 tax preparation sites across Miami Dade County this year, the latest one opening up in Little Haiti. For more information, click on this link.
