News

February 15, 2023

Home Grown Child Care Shares Tax Guidance for Home-based Child Care Providers

Home Grown Child Care has partnered with Civitas Strategies to develop a tax workbook for home-based child care providers. “Preparing for Tax Season: A Guide for Home-based Child Care Providers,” is available in English and Spanish.

About the 2022 Tax Workbook

This tax workbook was created to provide home-based child care providers with timely guidance on navigating tax preparation. It is designed to simplify the process of completing taxes and to alleviate tax-based stress by providing step-by-step guidance on tax work.

Home-based child care providers can share this resource with a tax professional or use it to complete their own taxes.

Download the 2022 Tax Workbook

Download the workbook in English

Download the workbook in Spanish 

Learn More

To learn more about Home Grown Child Care’s 2022 tax workbook, visit the Home Grown Child Care website.

To find tax guides for all child care providers, visit the “New Tax Guides for Child Care Professionals,” Trying Together webpage.

News

January 17, 2023

Free Tax Return Preparation in Allegheny County

The Free Tax Preparation Coalition (sponsored by United Way of Southwestern PA), which provides free income tax return preparation throughout the region, is now taking appointments for the 2023 tax season.

(This article was updated on January 17, 2023 to reflect scheduling and site information)

Learn More

Every year, Free Tax Preparation Coalition helps low-income households file their income tax return and maximize their tax refund. Many low-income people are eligible for tax credits and other refunds when they file their yearly tax return. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs, and can increase a family’s annual income by as much as 45 percent.

More details are available on the Just Harvest website. Just Harvest is a leading member of the Free Tax Preparation Coalition. Tax preparation services are available from January 23 through April 18, 2023.

Schedule an Appointment

To schedule an appointment, you can contact the United Way Resource Navigators in three different ways:

Details, locations, and contact information are available on this flyer.

More Resources

  • GetYourRefund.org is a free virtual service supported by the IRS, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the White House that helps low-income households across America receive high quality tax services from the convenience of their home. Services open on January 31, 2023, at 1 p.m. Services are also available in Spanish.

  • The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who make $60,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their tax returns. To locate an open site near you, use the VITA Locator Tool or call (888) 227-7669 (toll-free).

  • The IRS Free File offers many online resources and tax help. Find tax forms, instructions and publications, online payment options, and more. Individuals can even prepare and file their federal income tax online for free. More information will be available in January 2023.

News

January 4, 2023

New Tax Guides for Child Care Professionals

Civitas Strategies Early Start, in partnership with Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services (WEESSN) – a program of Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) – has developed tax guides specifically for child care providers nationwide.

Learn More

The guides focus on helping providers use the three largest online tax preparation software brands to address specific child care business scenarios.

The tax guides give child care providers the specific knowledge they need to provide accurate information about their business and understand where to enter data into the software. These guides are not meant to be large or laborious tools – they remove a key barrier for providers in using these efficient, cost-effective online methods of tax preparation. Here are links to the guides for each software:

Once the tax software is released for the 2022 tax year, the guides will be updated with screenshots and videos instructing child care providers which areas they need focus on to ensure they have what they need to prepare their taxes.

Details about the guides are available on the WECA website.

News

May 27, 2020

Saving for Your Child’s College Tuition

Saving for college isn’t impossible. All you need is a plan. The Pennsylvania 529 College and Career Savings Program two plans and many investment options that have helped over 205,000 families of all income levels answer one of their biggest financial concerns: how to afford college. Join the Pennsylvania 529 College and Career Savings Program for their webinar to learn more.

About

During the webinar, participants will learn about the following topics:

    • how you can save for college and save on your Pennsylvania income taxes;
    • how you can avoid paying any federal or state income taxes on your college savings growth;
    • how you can save for college with little impact on your chances for financial aid;
    • how you can save for a semester of college today and cover a semester in the future no matter when or how much tuition has increased; and
    • how saving can be made easy.

Registration

Webinar sessions are available on the dates listed below. Please use the links to navigate to the event’s registration pages.

More Information

For more information, please contact the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program at 800.440.4000 or PA529@patreasury.gov.