Website Provides Free Tax Filing for Texans

www.icanefile.org

(English & Spanish versions)

AUSTIN. Every year, Texas families leave nearly $1 billion in potential tax credits in the hands of the federal government due to lack of knowledge about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  For the second year, the Texas Legal Services Center is promoting a user-friendly resource for all Texas families who want to make sure they claim their share.  Wage earners and recipients of social security benefits alike will benefit from using the site.  Those who do not qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit may use I-CAN! E-FILE at no charge.

This website sponsored by the Texas Legal Services Center, www.icanefile.org, will automatically calculate and file for all potential tax credits, including the EITC, child tax credit, and others.  There is no charge to use the website, and the site has been authorized by the IRS for safe and effective self-help tax preparation.

• Users log on to www.icanefile.org from their home, or at a local public library branch;  
• Taxpayers who earn less than $50,000/year are eligible to use the site free of charge;
• Users go through a series of secure web pages inputting answers to a series of simple, interactive questions, and;
• The website also allows viewing of instructional IRS videos and educational materials.

The forms are in a simple question and answer format. The website allows for direct filing with IRS so refunds and tax credits are normally received in less than two weeks.  Texas Legal Services Center Executive Director Randall Chapman observed, "Families who live on tight budgets should not be gouged by flashy advertising for so-called instant-refund tax loans.  Those high cost loans siphon off valuable dollars that families can instead use for rent, food and other life necessities."

An individual can access this website from any computer.  Log on at any public library, retail store, or other sites that offer free computer use.  The website may be accessed by a taxpayer whose information is securely stored and available twenty-four hours a day. Contact Carole Thorp, Outreach Coordinator at Texas Legal Services in Austin at (512) 477-6000, ext. 130 for more information.

The I-CAN? E-File website module was created by Legal Aid of Orange County.  Texas Legal Services Center also partners with United Ways of Texas in promoting programs providing financial security for limited resource families.  Detailed information on the EITC program and eligibility is published at www.uwtexas.org.