Free Tax Help Offered at Albany County Public Library

You can get your taxes filed for free by trained tax preparers at the Albany County Public Library. United Way of Albany County is holding multiple tax help sessions during the upcoming months, with the first session on Saturday, January 28 from 1-5 p.m.

Paul Heimer from United Way says people are served on a first come, first served basis and that it takes about 20 minutes to complete a simple return. Six people can be helped at a time and last year the average waiting time was 30-45 minutes according to Heimer, so four Tuesday sessions have been added this year to try and reduce the wait time.

It is an IRS supported program, all volunteers are IRS certified and the service is absolutely free, but Heimer warned that there are some restrictions on who they can help. They can only serve people with a household income of $55,000 or less and cannot do returns for people with farm income or businesses with employees.

In order to complete your tax return, you must bring W-2 forms, social security numbers and dates of birth for all household members plus other relevant tax forms including 1099s and 1098s. Heimer also recommends bringing in a copy of your 2010 tax return to help speed up the session.

Last year, this program did 711 returns and total refunds totaled just under $900,000 with an average refund of $1,250. Most of the returns are e-filed for a quick refund, which Heimer reports they usually get in 5-10 days.

The Albany County Library at 310 S. 8th St. is hosting all of the tax help sessions. Check out the dates and times of all of the sessions below. If you need more information, Paul Heimer can be contacted at (307)745-8643.

Calendar of Free Tax Help Sessions

Saturday, Jan. 28 (1-5 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 1 (4-8 p.m.)
Tuesday, Feb. 7 (4-8 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 8 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 11  (1-5 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 15 (4-8 p.m.)
Tuesday, Feb. 21 (4-8 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 22 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 25 (1-5 p.m.)
Wednesday, Feb. 29 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, March 3 (1-5 p.m.)
Tuesday, March 6 (4-8 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 7 (4-8 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 21 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, March 24 (1-5 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 28 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, March 31 (1-5 p.m.)
Wednesday, April 4 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, April 7 (1-5 p.m.)
Tuesday, April 10 (4-8 p.m.)
Wednesday, April 11 (4-8 p.m.)
Saturday, April 14 (1-5 p.m.)
Monday, April 16 (2-8 p.m.)