Free Tax Preparation at FoodChange

For the seventh consecutive year, FoodChange offered free quality tax preparation services to low-wage New Yorkers to help them secure all the tax benefits to which they are legally entitled, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

During the 2007 tax season the EITC, a refundable tax credit, was worth up to $6,360 depending on income and family size, while the CTC was as much as $1,000 per child.

FoodChange provides FREE quality tax assistance to all people meeting our income eligibility requirements. For the 2007 tax season, our requirements were:

• Have dependent children and earned less than $40,000 in 2007;
• Do not have dependent children and earned less than $20,000 in 2007.

Check back for requirements for the 2008 tax season.

Tax Sites

Our twelve tax sites are located in all five boroughs of New York City.

Bronx

South Bronx                                                                         555Bergen Street
January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: 2 or 5 trains to 149th and 3rd Avenue

Fordham                                                                               80 East 181 st Street - basement of the Morris Senior Center         January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: 4 train to Burnside Avenue

Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn                                                      Sovereign Bank (formerly Independence Community) - 195 Montague Street (between Court and Clinton Streets)                             January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: 2, 3, 4 or 5 train to Borough Hall or M, N or R train to Court Street.

Bedford-Stuyvesant                                                                                 Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation - 1368 Fulton Street (inside the Courtyard Plaza across from Duane Reade)                                      January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: A or C train to Nostrand Avenue

Sunset Park                                                                   Center for Family Life - 5505 Fourth Avenue (between 55th and 56th Streets)                                                                                                   January 19 - April 15                                                                           
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: R train to 53rd Street or N train to 59th Street.

Manhattan

Harlem                                                                                         FoodChange’s Food and Finance Center: 284 St. Nicholas Avenue (between 124th and 125th Streets)
January 17- April 17                                                                              
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 9am – 7pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
In April: Monday –  Thursday, 9am – 7pm; Friday & Saturday, 9am-5pm
Subway: 2, 3, A, B, C or D train to 125th Street.

Washington Heights                                                                           Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation - 76 Wadsworth Avenue (between 176th and 177th Streets)
January 19 - April 15                                                                           
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: 1 train to 181st Street or A train to 175th Street

Queens

Jackson Heights                                                                                          37-32 77th Street
January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: E, F, R or 7 train to 74 th Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

Jamaica                                                                                                        First Presbyterian Church - 89-60 164th Street (between Jamaica and 89th Avenues)                                                                                        January 19 - April 15                                                                           
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm
Subway: E, J or Z train to Jamaica Center or F train to 169th Street.

Long Island City                                                                                          This site is available by appointment only. To schedule a visit, contact the site at (718) 784-0877.
12-11 40th Avenue
Appointments may be made for April 5, 9am – 4pm; April 9, 3pm– 9pm; April 10, 12pm – 9pm; April 11, 10 am – 6pm; and April 12, 9am – 4pm

Staten Island

Saint George                                                                                            Staten Island Bank & Trust - 15 Hyatt Street (between Central Avenue and Stuyvesant Place)                                                                           January 19 - April 15
In March: Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday 9am – 5pm
In April: Friday, 12pm – 5pm; Saturday, 9am – 5pm

Access: Staten Island Railway to Saint George station. Or any bus to the Staten Island Ferry.

Mobile Site

Our Mobile Site visits various locations throughout New York City, in conjunction with partner groups who arrange client appointments and coordinate days and hours with FoodChange, and is not open to the general public. For more information on accessing the Mobile Site contact FoodChange at (212) 894-8094

Interested in self-preparation?

If you have access to a computer and the internet, we also encourage you to learn more about preparing taxes on your own, for free.  If you meet income eligibility requirements, the following two websites provide easy-to-understand, step-by-step instructions for how to file both your federal and state income taxes:

TurboTax Freedom Edition (income must be under $29,000 or $54,000 if active duty military)
http://www.taxfreedom.com

The Beehive’s CompleteTax Free Filing (free for those making under $40,000 a year)                        http://www.beehivenyc.org/foodchange