Taxation and the New York Public Advocate's Office

Income Tax Preparation Help from the NY Public Advocate's Office

The New York City Public Advocate's Office is committed to helping New Yorkers with questions they may have about their income taxes. Special attention is paid to the Earned Income Tax Credit. The Office holds free seminars throughout the City to assist citizens with this issue.

The Office has published a paper that is available to all citizens which will give simple advice on claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit. This educational piece gives the levels of earnings, deductions and exceptions which are the basis for qualifiying for this credit. This easy to read paper will help any citizen to easily see whether or not they qualify. The paper goes on to explain claiming children for tax purposes and outlines the various regulations about which children qualify and which do not.

Also available to citizens are seminars and workshops for educating them about filling out their tax forms. There are free seminars and individual tax filing instructions for people making a certain income level as well as those for senior citizens. The Public Advocate's Office gives instructions about what information to bring in order to receive help with tax preparation. The Office also gives advice against using a tax preparer who will give a loan against a person's tax refund. An explanation of these types of services is included in the papers on tax preparation as well as advice on where and how to prepare one's taxes in the most beneficial way for the taxpayer.