Beginning February 5th, Temple University is once again offering free tax return preparation. We are planning on running our VITA program using a mix of in-person and virtual services. To make an appointment for our in-person services you may call 215-326-9519 or email vita@temple.edu beginning the first week of January. To have your return done virtually, you will need to be able to go to the Get Your Refund website, via the following link and follow the instructions, which include uploading many, if not all of the documents listed below.
Your return will be prepared by IRS certified Temple students assisted by Temple faculty and alumni. If your return is outside of our scope as set by the IRS we are legally unable to do your tax return. These rules are set by the IRS to ensure the quality and accuracy of the returns we do prepare.
Some of the more common limitations are:
- You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Your annual income is less than $56,844 (if married, this refers to joint income).
- You do not own and operate your own business
- You do not own any rental property
Note this is not a complete list, for a complete list of limitations please see IRS Publication 4012 (Pages 5-16).
Required documents
Below is a list of items we require. You must either upload digital images to the above website or mail copies (do not send originals).
Applicable to all clients
- Photo identification – we cannot do your return without this.
- Social Security Cards for you, your spouse and dependents and/or a Social Security Number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration (this is an IRS requirement to prevent identity theft) – we cannot do your return without this.
- Birth dates for you, your spouse and dependents on the tax return – we cannot do your return without this.
- Form 1095-A if you received insurance at any time during the year via the marketplace. We cannot do your return without this information.
- A copy of last year’s Federal and State returns if available – This is very useful in doing the current year’s return.
- Bank Routing Numbers and Account Numbers for Direct Deposit – if you would like to have your refund directly deposited to your bank account
- Local returns to be filed (we cannot file these electronically using our software) – if you want us to prepare your local return
You may need to provide the following forms depending on your circumstances. Read this list carefully. If you do not provide what is needed, it will delay the process as we will need to contact you for the additional documents.
- If you had one or more jobs during 2020, you must bring all of your wage and tax statements commonly known as form W-2
- If you received any payments from the government, for example, unemployment benefits, you must bring form W-2G
- If you are retired and received payments from one or more former employer, or distributions from one or more retirement accounts you must bring all 1099-R forms.
- If you are receiving social security you must bring your benefits statement, form SSA-1099.
- If you received interest, for example, from a bank, you must bring form 1099-Int
- If you received dividends from owning mutual funds or stocks, you must bring form 1099-Div
- If you sold investments during the year, you must bring form 1099-B
- If you were a college student during 2020 or are claiming a college student as a dependent, you may be entitled to education credits. You must bring with you Form 1098-T, which should have been sent to you by the college(s) in question (hint: you may have to download this form from the college’s web portal).
If you think you may benefit from itemizing deductions, which is very unlikely under the revised tax code, you will need to provide:
- Documentation for medical and dental bills, prescriptions and insurance premiums.
- Documentation for property/real estate taxes paid (note that locally many people get two tax bills)
- A mortgage interest statements from your lender, form 1098. This form may include amounts your lender paid on your behalf for property/real estate taxes
- Receipts for charitable donations (if you are unsure please submit what you have). Please note that for 2020 & 2021 you are allowed to deduct a limited amount of qualifying monetary contributions without itemized.
If you paid for day care for a qualified child, the total paid to the day care provider and the day care provider’s tax identifying number (the provider’s Social Security Number or the provider’s business Employer Identification Number)
Please note, if you want to file as married filing jointly, both spouses must be available to speak with the reviewer, and if you want us to prepare a return for an individual who is not available you must provide your power of attorney (if you don’t know what this is, you probably don’t have it).