As part of its United for Financial Security Initiative, Orange County United Way is offering free tax preparation and electronic filing to low- and moderate-income individuals and families through its popular OC Free Tax Prep program.
In Newport Beach, free tax prep is available by appointment at the Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living, 307 Placentia Ave. Phone (888) 434-8248 to make an appointment.
“Last year, thousands of Orange County community members received free tax preparation services through OC Free Tax Prep, helping to return millions of dollars in tax refunds to local families,” said Susan B. Parks, president and CEO of Orange County United Way. “Our ultimate goal through OC Free Tax Prep is to help stabilize low and moderate income families as well as stimulate the local economy. With help from dedicated volunteers, we look forward to helping even more families this year.”
OC Free Tax Prep was established in 2005 to help qualifying individuals keep more of their hard-earned money and increase the number of financially stable households in Orange County to break the cycle of poverty. To date, program volunteers have contributed more than 105,000 hours to complete 133,132 tax returns, which amounts to more than $25.4 million saved in tax preparation fees.
The program offers two ways of filing – drop-off with an appointment where an IRS-certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) preparer files for you or do it yourself online at MyFreeTaxes.com. There are over 25 VITA sites in Orange County (including Newport Beach), with locations at community resource centers, churches, and schools. Multilingual preparers are available in most locations.
Households that earned less than $60,000 in 2022 are eligible for free tax filing services.
For more information about OC Free Tax Prep and a complete list of sites in Orange County, visit https://ocfreetaxprep.com.
