Free Tax Preparation Services

You can get your income tax return prepared and filed for free at any one of 17 United Way of King County sponsored tax sites throughout King County from January 15th through April 15th. In addition to getting help filing your taxes, you may be eligible to receive a refund from the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for working people with low and moderate incomes. This year, the maximum EITC credit you can receive as a single adult with no dependents is $475, or $3,169 with one qualifying child, $5,236 with two qualifying children and up to $5,891 with three or more qualifying children.

The free tax preparation service will be provided by IRS trained multilingual volunteers, and electronically filed for a fast refund. Free tax preparation is available to households who make less than $51,000 and need basic individual tax returns. Free tax prep allows low-income people to keep more of their hard-earned money and avoid paying unnecessary fees for commercial tax preparation and "rapid refund" loans.

Multilingual tax preparers are available at several sites to serve customers who do not speak English. You don’t need an appointment! Sites operate on a drop-in basis and no appointments are set. Many sites get very crowded, especially during January and April so you should arrive as close to the site’s opening time as possible for the best chance of getting served. People who arrive later may not be able to see a volunteer.

You can also get help signing up for public benefits like food stamps, utility assistance, and children's health care, get help with the FAFSA (the application for college financial aid), pulling your credit report; learning where to go for more financial information; and setting up a credit union account.

Make sure you bring all the necessary documents to the tax site. Click here to find a free tax prep location near you or dial 2-1-1 from any phone in King County (this is a free call, even from payphones) or 206-461-3200 and tell the 2-1-1 operator that you want information about free tax preparation services. Or text the word TAX and your 5-digit ZIP CODE (for example, "TAX 98104") to 313131, or e-mail EITC@uwkc.org. For more information visit unitedwayofkingcounty.org/taxhelp.