Taxes: Free Services and a Few Warnings

There's only three weekends left prior to tax filing deadline on April 17.

As reported earlier this year, a Washington DC holiday on April 15 has forced the IRS to delay the deadline in 2012.

Since one of those weekends is the Easter Holiday, April 8, there's only two weekends remaining to calculate, complete forms and file taxes.

For those readers who prefer to file taxes on their own, the IRS is issued a list of free tax preparers.

There are 14 online taxpreparers that will help people who earned less than $57,000 in 2011.

Seniors who prefer to see a tax specialist, in person, for free will need to travel out of Arnold.

There are three tax preparers that are part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs.

• 4548 Lemay Ferry Road, Mehlville, MO—314-615-4037
• 11333 Big Bend, St. Louis, MO—314-984-7514
• 842 S. Holmes, Kirkwood, MO—314-615-4037

The preparers require people to call, set appointments and to bring the following items.

The IRS website says people need to bring the following items to the VITA/TCE sites:

• Government Issued Picture ID
• Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration or
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) assignment letter for you, your spouse and dependents
• Proof of foreign status, if applying for an ITIN
• Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return
• Wage and earning statement(s) Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099-Misc from all employers
• Interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099)
• A copy of last year’s federal and state returns if available
• Proof of bank account routing numbers and account numbers for Direct Deposit, such as a blank check
• Total paid for daycare provider and the daycare provider's tax identifying number (the provider's Social Security Number or the provider's business Employer Identification Number) if appropriate
• To file taxes electronically on a married-filing-joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.