VITA and TCE sites offer free tax filing help to eligible taxpayers across the country

February 18, 2026

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich; edited by Kay Bell

You tried doing your taxes, but found it just too much. And when you checked with local tax preparers, you found they were already booked and wanted more than you could pay.

Don’t panic. You might qualify for free tax preparation and efiling help from Internal Revenue Service-trained volunteers in your community.

They are part of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs that pop up across the country every filing season.

Local help for federal tax task: As noted, volunteers at all VITA and TCE locations across the United States help eligible taxpayers prepare and e-file their returns for little or no cost.

VITA was created after passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, and over the decades the program has helped not only increase taxpayers’ knowledge of our tax system, but also has provided filing assistance to taxpayers underserved communities.

This is accomplished thanks to the involvement of community and nonprofit groups that sponsor the volunteer sites each filing season. This year, the IRS awarded grants totaling $53 million to 48 TCE and 315 VITA applicants.

VITA volunteers’ keen eyes are in particular demand this year as taxpayers look to claim some of the new tax breaks that were added as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

TCE made its tax help debut in 1978. It provides similar services but, as its name indicates, it focuses on the specialized filing needs of taxpayers age 60 or older, many of who are on fixed incomes. The tax issue of special interest this filing season to taxpayers age 65 or older is the new Senior Bonus.

Most TCE sites are operated by the AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide program. And while AARP takes the lead here, you don’t have to belong to the group to get TCE help.

Finding your community’s sites: The tax-help clinics typically are at locations that are convenient for local taxpayers to find and get to, such as local schools, community and neighborhood centers, libraries, shopping malls, and other convenient and easily accessible locations.

Some groups, like the Dallas-area nonprofit Sharing Life in the X post below, sponsor multiple sites.

You can find the VITA site nearest you by using the IRS’ VITA Locator Tool or calling toll-free (800) 906-9887.

When looking for a TCE location, use the AARP Site Locator Tool. Or you can call, again toll-free, (888) 227-7669.

Both online search tools are updated regularly from the start of tax season through April.

With a couple of clicks on my laptop, I found 18 locations, nine VITA and another nine TCE, near my Austin home.

If you’re primarily a mobile device user, find a site via the IRS2Go app.

Trained by the IRS: Since taxes and people’s money are involved, the sponsoring groups and IRS want to make sure the VITA and TCE preparers know what they are doing.

VITA and TCE volunteers must pass IRS sanctioned tax law training that meets or exceeds the tax agency’s standards. This training includes guidance on maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of all taxpayer information. You can see the curricula in IRS Publication 6744, the VITA/TCE Volunteer Assistor’s Test/Retest.

In addition, the IRS requires a quality review check for every return prepared at a VITA/TCE site prior to filing.

Taxpayer eligibility for VITA, TCE help: Like the volunteers, the taxpayers who come to a VITA clinic for help also must meet some requirements.

The first is income. The earnings threshold typically is adjusted each year. Generally, to qualify for VITA help this year, you must make $69,000 or less. That’s the official limit cited by the IRS, but yes, I did notice the $70,000 income limit in the Texas group’s X post, so check with your local site before heading out.

VITA assistance also is available to individuals with disabilities, and taxpayers whose native language is not English.

TCE generally offers free tax prep and filing assistance to taxpayers who are age 60 and older. As you might expect, TCE staff specialize in tax questions about pensions and retirement-related issues.

Some VITA and TCE sites also provide help with state tax returns.

Pre-help preparation: You also need to be aware of the pre-VITA/TCE site visit requirements related to your taxes. Specifically, you must do some pre-filing prep work.

To ensure that your tax return can be completed accurately, all volunteer tax filing help sites ask that you bring with you:

Proof of identification, such as a photo ID. This can be a valid state-issued driver’s license, or federal visa or passport. Other acceptable identity documents include those issued by the military, a school, or employer.
Social Security cards or Individual Taxpayer Identification notices/cards for you, your spouse, and any dependents.
Birth dates for you, your spouse, and any dependents you will claim on the return.
Proof of foreign status if applying for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), an option at certain VITA sites.
A copy of last year’s federal and state returns, if available.
All W-2 and 1099 forms, as well as any other information for other income not reported on a 1099.
Information supporting all deductions and credits.
Proof of an account at a bank or other financial institution for direct deposit of refund
A copy of last year’s tax return, if applicable.
For filing of prior year returns, copies of income transcripts from IRS and, if applicable, your state filings.

Also note that if you’re married and you and your spouse want to file a joint return, both of you must come to the VITA or TCE site.

Lots, but not total, tax help: Finally, remember that VITA and TCE volunteers focus on helping a broad base of taxpayers. This means they work on returns that cover more basic filing issues.

So that necessarily means that some, particularly more complex, tax areas are not addressed at VITA and TCE sites. Returns that involve the following will not be worked on at the sites:

Schedule C sole proprietor returns with losses, depreciation, or business use of home
Complicated Schedule D filings, i.e., capital gains and losses
Forms 8814 or 8815, filed to report a child’s investment income taxed at the parent’s tax rate, aka the kiddie tax
Form SS-8, determination of worker status for purposes of federal employment taxes and income tax withholding
Parts 4 and 5 of Form 8962, premium tax credits related to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
Returns with casualty/disaster losses

You can find more on the type of tax issues VITA and TCE will and won’t tackle, as well as a reminder of the documents you need to bring, in IRS Publication 3676-B.

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