Help Available for N.J. Tax Filers As Deadline Looms

The clock is ticking on this year’s tax filing deadline on Tuesday April 17th but a New Jersey Division of Taxation Official says you don’t have to go it alone.

Acting Director Michael Bryan says help is available for tax filers through the Internal Revenue Service’s (I.R.S) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (V.I.T.A). Bryan says “VITA is a program where volunteers, they can be retired accountants or IRS employees and others, make themselves available to prepare your tax returns for no charge and they’ll do Federal and State returns.”

There’s also been lots of talk in Trenton on various plans between Republicans and Democrats to institute certain tax cuts in this year’s proposed state budget but Bryan says the cuts are not a factor when it comes to filing your taxes. However, he says many Seniors and the Disabled will be able to get some property tax relief through the Senior Freeze Program. He says the program didn’t meet the budgeting ax and is available with no changes.

Bryan says Senior Freeze rebate recipients must meet certain income eligibility requirements. He says “income in this program is not the same as taxable income so there’s a bit of a different computation. People will need to include those categories of retirement income, social security benefits things like that. He says there’s even a minimum age requirement.” You can get a list of eligibility requirements at the N.J. Division of Taxation Web site.