MADISON (WKOW) -- Tax season is here!
Before you and your family send off your W-2 there's a few tips you won't want to forget.
For the past decade, the Dane County Extension Financial Education Center has been offering free tax preparation at no charge.
They help about 3,000 people a year, at the South Park Street, Villager Mall location alone.
It's something Family Living Educator Deb Neubauer says has increased in need these past few years.
Many people who come in are unemployed and every dollar counts.
She says there is no income qualifier to get help.
"It is extremely rewarding to see the number of people that come through here and use our services. Now they can use every single dollar that's coming back to them for the things they need to feed their families," said Deb Neubauer, Family Living Educator.
If you and your family are doing just fine financially and don't know whether to pay an online service to file, or go to a tax professional, CPA Mike Scholz says more than likely, you can file on your own.
He says about two thirds of claims don't claim any itemized deductions, so they should be simple enough to do on your own.
If you do decide to go to a professional though, he says bring your last two years of returns along with.
"More than half the time, we're finding errors either made in the return that actually got processed by the IRS that they didn't catch and we've amended those returns and got the money back or it's just tax deductions they didn't think about," said Mike Scholz, Wegner CPAs & Consultants.
Scholz adds to make sure you don't file too early - many times there is that extra form delivered late you didn't think about - and you will have to amend your file.
One plus we already have on our sides is that we get an extra day to file because it is on April 17th this year, and this is a leap year, so that's always a plus.
The Dane County Extension at the Villager Mall location is one of dozens of sites that will file taxes for you for free. To learn more, click here.
The IRS also has a link on their site for free e-filing for those who make $57,000 or less. Click here to learn more.
