{"id":65583,"date":"2016-01-30T17:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-01-30T22:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=65583"},"modified":"2016-01-30T12:47:22","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T17:47:22","slug":"assemblyman-stirpe-free-tax-assistance-can-help-families-keep-more-of-their-hard-earned-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=65583","title":{"rendered":"Assemblyman Stirpe: Free tax assistance can help families keep more of their hard-earned money"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_43068\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-43068\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Al-Stirpe.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-43068\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Al-Stirpe.jpg?resize=226%2C222\" alt=\"Al Stirpe\" width=\"226\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Al-Stirpe.jpg?w=226&amp;ssl=1 226w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Al-Stirpe.jpg?resize=150%2C147&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-43068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Al Stirpe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>By Assemblyman Al Stirpe<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Syracuse, NY \u2013 Jan. 2016) Navigating the complex tax system can be overwhelming and stressful, making it easy to overlook hundreds or even thousands of dollars in potential credits and deductions. But right now, free assistance is available throughout Central New York to help guide hardworking families through tax season and ensure they get every penny they deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Tax breaks like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can provide financial relief to working families and help cover the rising cost of living here. But unfortunately, 1 of every 5 taxpayers eligible for the EITC fails to apply, mainly because they aren\u2019t aware the credit exists or how beneficial it can be.\u00a0This year, eligible families could receive up to $6,242 from the EITC \u2013 enough to help pay the bills or start a savings fund for the future.<\/p>\n<p>Other tax credits you may qualify for include:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the Empire State Child Credit, worth up to $330 per child aged 4-16;<\/li>\n<li>the federal Child Tax Credit, worth up to $1,000 per child under the age of 17;<\/li>\n<li>the Child and Dependent Care Credit, an income-based credit for working parents who pay for child care or the care of a dependent;<\/li>\n<li>the College Tuition Credit or College Tuition Itemized Deduction; or<\/li>\n<li>the Real Property Tax Credit, a refundable credit worth up to $375 for eligible homeowners and renters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Learning which credits you and your family qualify for can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. In fact, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has volunteers on hand to help you avoid scams and get your full refund this year. Free help is available between\u00a01 and 5 p.m.\u00a0at the following locations:<\/p>\n<p>Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) at Brewerton<\/p>\n<p>5440 Bennett St.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesdays through\u00a0April 13<\/p>\n<p>NOPL at Cicero<\/p>\n<p>8686 Knowledge Lane<\/p>\n<p>Fridays through\u00a0April 8<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide will be offering free tax preparation assistance by appointment through the end of tax season at the following locations:<\/p>\n<p>NOPL at North Syracuse<\/p>\n<p>100 N. Trolley Barn Lane<\/p>\n<p>315-458-6184<\/p>\n<p>Minoa Free Library<\/p>\n<p>242 N. Main St.<\/p>\n<p>315-656-7401<\/p>\n<p>Fayetteville Free Library<\/p>\n<p>300 Orchard St.<\/p>\n<p>315-637-6374<\/p>\n<p>Manlius Library<\/p>\n<p>1 Arkie Albanese Ave.<\/p>\n<p>315-682-6400<\/p>\n<p>If you made less than $62,000 last year, you can also e-file your federal and state taxes for free. For more information or to e-file your taxes, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tax.ny.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.tax.ny.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you find this information useful as you prepare your taxes this year, and I encourage you to take advantage of the many resources available to help ensure you can keep more of your hard-earned money. As always, my door is open. If you have any questions about this or any other community issue, please don\u2019t hesitate to contact me at\u00a0StirpeA@assembly.state.ny.us\u00a0or by calling 452-1115.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Assemblyman Al Stirpe (Syracuse, NY \u2013 Jan. 2016) Navigating the complex tax system can be overwhelming and stressful, making it easy to overlook hundreds or even thousands of dollars in potential credits and deductions. But right now, free assistance is available throughout Central New York to help guide hardworking families through tax season and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-h3N","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Al-Stirpe.jpg?fit=226%2C222&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}