You may think you don’t need to file a tax return. But you might be missing out on getting a big tax refund in the mail. If you need help filing, there’s free help thanks to the Oregon Department of Human Services Tax Infrastructure Program, which funds community organizations throughout the state to offer free tax filing help for people who qualify. See below to pick the best location for free tax help.

Many working Oregonians aren’t required to file a tax return. Or, they haven’t filed for years. So why bother?

Here are some reasons to file a tax return:

• You could get a significant amount of money back. Your employer may have withheld too much money from your paycheck. You may have excess withholding payments that can be returned to you as a refund, particularly if you worked part time or for only part of the year.
• There’s a bevy of tax credits. There’s the state and federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for working people with low incomes; the Oregon Kids Credit if you have children; the Working Family Credit if you have childcare costs; the Retirement Savings Credit if you’re saving for retirement; the American Opportunity Credit if you attend college; and other credits.
• You are under age 18 and believe your parents file your tax return. A common misconception for families occurs when children work and their parent claims them as a dependent on their return. Depending on how much they worked, young people working part-time can receive hundreds of dollars of excess withholding while still being claimed as a dependent on their parent’s return.
• You have never filed or haven’t filed over the last few years. Many people missed filing their tax return during the pandemic. If you need to file prior year returns, there is free in-person tax filing help available: https://www.oregon.gov/dor/programs/individuals/Pages/get-free-tax-help.aspx)
• You may be required to file an Oregon return. The income requirements for filing a state return Oregon are much lower than for the federal Internal Revenue Service. For single person with no dependents in Oregon it is $7,710. Check your Oregon filing requirements: https://www.oregon.gov/dor/programs/individuals/Pages/file-requirements.aspx#fullyear.
• You missed the April 15 tax day deadline and think it’s too late. If you are due a refund, there is no penalty for late filing. Free tax filing help is available through mid-October.
  
  The Tax Infrastructure Grant Program funds culturally relevant or culturally specific organizations, Tribal governments and rural community organizations to help educate and provide free tax filing help for people with low incomes. Help is available in multiple languages. The grant money is also used to increase the number of certified tax preparers in Oregon.

Where to get free help filing taxes

• 211Info: Call 2-1-1 or email help@211info.org for a list of all the free tax filing help.
• Oregon State University; vita@oregonstate.edu; 541-737-3371; Corvallis, Bend, Eugene OSU VITA website: https://business.oregonstate.edu/volunteer-income-tax-assistance
• Western Oregon University; wouvita@wou.edu; 503-751-4132; Monmouth, Independence, Falls City; WOU VITA website: https://wou.edu/business-economics/volunteer-income-tax-assistance-vita/.
• CASH Oregon: info@Cashoregon.org; 503-243-7765; Portland, Beaverton, Gresham
• Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO); TAX@irco.org; 971-427-3993; Portland, Ontario
• Centro de Servicios Para Campesinos; debbiec@Centrodspc.org; 503-982-0243; Woodburn
• Latino Community Association; info@latinocommunityassociation.org; 541-382-4366; Bend, Redmond
• Moneywise Oregon; dan@moneywiseoregon.org; 541-670-5054; Coos Bay, Roseburg