TULSA, Okla. — With just two weeks left until the April 15 tax filing deadline, many people are looking for help completing their returns.
The IRS is offering extended hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Tulsa to assist taxpayers. 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Additionally, free tax preparation help is available through VITA at Tulsa Responds for those who qualify.
"We help families, uh, and individuals making under $69,000 a year to get their taxes done for free," Ana Torres with VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, said.
John Rothrock initially planned to file his own taxes but quickly realized he needed assistance.
"I thought I was gonna do it myself, and then I, I sit down with the TurboTax. It is, it's like, oh, I don't even know what those words mean anymore, you know. It's like I've got to have some help," Rothrock said.
He told 2 News Oklahoma he was happy to find help through VITA at the Tulsa Responds office close to his home.
"I had some serious health issues in the summer, because of that, I wasn't able to do my own taxes, so this, this has been absolutely the best thing for me. And then the icing on the cake is the fact that it's free," Rothrock said.
The help is free by appointment.
"I would encourage them to go online and book as soon as possible, so don't wait till the very last minute," Torres said.
For those who owe money, payment is due along with the tax return by April 15.
"One out of four do in fact owe each year for a variety of reasons, mostly side hustles and self-employment or crypto gains that they didn't realize were going to be taxable," according to Jackson-Hewitt Chief Tax Officer, Mark Steber.
Taxpayers need to file their returns on time to avoid extra late fees for missing the deadline.
"First, find out whether you do in fact owe. Or maybe you missed some credits or deductions or other life change tax benefits that make it either smaller or you don't owe at all, and I say we see that often," Steber said.
If taxpayers owe back taxes, there are options available to help manage the debt.
Underpaid taxes and back taxes, whether federal or state, are not easily dismissed like a credit card bill. Steber told 2 News that those who owe have options.
"There are a host of tax forgiveness programs. Now they don't work as they advertise on late-night TV, he said. "It really is a pretty multi-stepped process, but if you are in financial straits and you are economically upside down and you do owe taxes, the IRS is not the big bad bully that you see on TV. There are options. There are programs. There are tax forgiveness options available to taxpayers, but you have to take advantage of them. You have to file properly. You have to apply for those forgiveness programs. You can't just ignore them and hope they'll go away. They never go away.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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