The traditional tax filing day of April 15 has come and gone, but with the COVID-19 pandemic extending Tax Day to July 15, many Philadelphians have yet to file their income taxes.
Campaign for Working Families, a nonprofit organization, offers free virtual tax preparation for low-income families.
The process is simple and provided at no cost to the filer. A client can go online to https://cwfphilly.org/virtual/ and upload the required documents such as driver’s license or form I.D., W-2 for 2019.
The filer can scan or use smartphone photos to provide the documents. A representative will then call the client to confirm all of the information and take the necessary steps to complete the tax return and have the refund direct deposited or have a check mailed directly.
To see a tutorial on the process, visit https://cwfphilly.org/virtual/tutorial/.
“When Gov. Wolf shut down all non-essential businesses, the Campaign for Working Families was forced to close our Free Tax Prep Sites throughout the area. We know that many families are depending on their refunds and quickly found a way to do the filing of federal, state and local income taxes through an online application,” said Mary Arthur, Campaign for Working Families president and CEO.
“Our online site is easy to use, and we don’t expect people to file their taxes on their own. We are here to do that for them,” said Graham O’Neil, director of partnerships. “We’ve partnered with GetYourRefund.org to power the online tax filing site, and then we work with our clients to complete their taxes. No one else in the area is doing this, and certainly not for free.”
Families who are in need of tax preparation can visit the CWF website at https://cwfphilly.org/ or email virtual@cwfphilly.org with questions. ••
