Help is here for tax season

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Today is the first day the IRS is processing returns for the 2023 tax year and local experts say the sooner you file, the better.

Tax experts say that after the pandemic, people may not be prepared for a "normal" tax year, without stimulus checks, deadline extensions, or other pandemic changes.

"We are coming out of the pandemic era of things and this is the year that it's actually been hitting people where you are actually paying the taxes you normally would have been the last couple years," said Kelly Klemaier, a tax professional at Kates Tax Service. "They've lowered the withholding so a lot of people are getting the scare of their refund dropping."

Klemaier said regardless of where you file your taxes, it's important to make sure you have all the proper documents. She asks clients to bring in their W2s, social security information, and interest items. Klemaier said the biggest issues people usually have are collecting all of their W2s and finding the right paperwork to prove their children live with them full time.

If you are overwhelmed about completing your taxes, many communities have free tax help available. The University of Illinois has a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program where students help certain groups file their taxes.

"They provide free tax preparation services to anyone who qualifies, which would be those with income under $60,000, or if you are over age 60, or if you are disabled or have limited English speaking abilities then we can we can provide your tax preparation services for free," said Mandi Alt, an accounting instructor at the University of Illinois.

The students helping with the program go through training with the IRS and are all junior, seniors, or graduate students at the U of I. Faculty members help the students and ensure there are no errors. Alt says last year the program helped around 500 people, but there are more students helping this year so she is hoping to increase that number. For more information on the program, head to this link.

In the Decatur area, residents can get assistance with tax preparation at the Decatur Public Library from Millikin University students. Call 217-424-6203, beginning Monday, January 15 - Monday - Friday between 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Families making less than $70,000 and individuals making less than $35,000 qualify for free state and federal filing. Click here for more information.