LakewoodAlive has teamed with Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP) to offer free tax preparation and filing to working low-income families and individuals on Saturday, March 7.  “Super Saturday” takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Harrison Elementary School in Lakewood’s Historic Birdtown Neighborhood (2080 Quail Street).

Call 2-1-1 or visit www.refundohio.org to schedule your appointment to have your taxes done for free by one of ESOP’s certified tax preparers.  Walk-ins are welcome but will be seen after all scheduled appointments.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program provides free tax preparation to working low-income individuals and families by trained, certified volunteers through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program.  Tax preparers will help participants receive their full income tax refund – as much as $6,557 in refund monies utilizing electronic filing and direct deposit.

Tax Credit Eligibility Guidelines for Tax Year 2019:

  • Families with three or more qualifying children who earned less than $50,162 in 2019 (or less than $55,952 for married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $6,557.
  • Families with two qualifying children who earned less than $46,703 in 2019 (or less than $52,493 for married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $5,828.
  • Families with one qualifying child who earned less than $41,094 in 2019 (or less than $46,884 for married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit of up to $3,526.
  • Individuals who do not have a qualifying child, but are between the ages of 25 and 64, with earned income of less than $15,570 in 2019 (or less than $21,370 for married filing jointly) are eligible for a credit up to $529.

Participants should bring the following items on March 7: IRS 2019 W2s and 1099s, Social Security Cards for all family members, government-issued photo of each person signing the return, childcare expense statement including the provider’s Tax ID number, bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of refund and last year’s tax return, if possible.

For more information, please visit LakewoodAlive.org/TaxPrep or contact Nina Blackman, Finance Manager for ESOP and Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, at nblackman@benrose.org.