The Free Library of Philadelphia is a literacy machine, and one of the core literacies we hope to help citizens achieve is financial literacy. That’s why each year we help spread the word about opportunities for library patrons to prepare their taxes for free. In 2013, we first spread the word about Solutions for Progress’s The Benefit Bank. This tool allows households in Pennsylvania earning less than $95,000 a year to file state and federal taxes for free. In 2014, we offered a musical Mix Tape to keep taxpayers entertained as they worked their way through the myriad forms and questions. In 2015, our Government Publications department put budget cuts at the IRS in the context of tax season. They also raised awareness of the community organizations that help citizens navigate the unnecessarily complex process of filing taxes.

This year we’re inviting the United Way and the Campaign for Working Families to the Parkway Central Library on Saturday, January 30, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. to kick off tax season. All are welcome (but especially those who think they might qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit) to come have their taxes done for free by a professional tax preparer. Please spread the word, and share in your communities:

• Click here to download or share a flier of the event on Saturday January 30, 2016.

• Click here to download or share a bilingual English/Spanish flier describing how to access free tax preparation services for the rest of this tax season.

For those who are comfortable doing their taxes on their own from their own computer, you can access the self-serve tool of the Benefit Bank here:

• The Benefit Bank Self-Serve for Federal and State Taxes for individuals making under $65,000 or households making under $95,000.

For those who can’t make the Saturday tax preparation event at the Parkway Central Library, there are other sites operating throughout tax season where you can get one-on-one assistance:

• Campaign for Working Families tax preparation site locator

• The Benefit Bank tax preparation site locator

Good luck this tax season!