Living in the United States and being a senior has many advantages, and not all of them come from the IRS. The first is being able to apply for the Social Security Age Retirement Benefit. This is a great advantage, but not the only one. When it comes time to file taxes to the IRS we also find some interesting advantages.
With tax season already started, now is a good time to do our tax filing. Especially if we want to get a tax refund soon. In this sense, doing the tax filing as soon as possible is the best idea. This will greatly expedite the refund process and, therefore, we will get our money sooner.
However, many seniors may have problems when it comes to sending the IRS the tax return. This is because not everyone is familiar with the forms, the system and taxes. But seniors can get help that will make filing taxes with the IRS much easier.
Help for Seniors for submitting tax filings to the IRS
There are several ways seniors can receive help when filing their IRS tax returns. Here is some of the help they can receive:
- In-person help. The IRS helps seniors and low-income taxpayers in-person at their offices. For this, there are two different programs: Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). Each of these programs has its own peculiarities.
- Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE). Through this program the IRS prioritizes help for taxpayers age 60 and older. TCE has questions focused on pensions and retirement. This way retirees can receive this direct help with information that is good for them.
- Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA). This program is for people who earn less than $60,000 a year, as well as people with disabilities and limited English-speakers In order to apply for one of these aids we must go to the IRS Free Tax Preparation page and check which is the nearest office to be able to access this IRS help.
- IRS FreeFile. This new program to send the tax return is for all users who earn less than $73,000 per year.
- Free Fille Fillable forms. Although this program does not include the guides, retirees can request the fillable forms and fill them out themselves, although not all taxpayers may be able to do so.
- MilTax. Military veterans may be able to apply for the MilTax. This is a great help from the IRS for all military seniors who want to file their taxes.
We still have time to send in our tax filing, but we should not forget. The IRS will accept all returns until April 18, although it is possible to request an extension in some cases.