March 2020 | Vol. 20 Iss. 03
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FIND UTAH TAX HELP AT MIDVALE CITY HALL By Erin Dixon | e.dixon@mycityjournals.com and Sarah Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com
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f you don’t think you need to file a tax return because you don’t make enough, you could be missing out on tax credits that give you a refund, and yes, even if you didn’t have the government withhold anything from your paycheck. Greg McDonald is the state director for Utah Tax Help. He organizes volunteer-run sites where anyone can come to get their taxes filed for free. Some other tax programs will advertise free services, but often will charge once it comes to state filing. Utah Tax Help runs the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. On average, they complete 28,000 returns every year. McDonald wants to double that number. “Forever, Utah has been at 75% participation. Last year, we were at 171,000 people, which means there’s 57,000 that didn’t get it,” McDonald said. Why are there so many missing out on tax returns? “The IRS tells us we don’t have to. ‘Isn’t that great? My life is full of stress about money, I don’t have to wait in line to pay somebody to do my taxes,’” McDonald said. The IRS filing threshold for a single earner is $12,200. If you are single and head of household the threshold is $18,350. If you’re married filing joint, it’s $24,400. Likely, the households with these numbers are going to miss out on a tax return because the IRS doesn’t require them to file. Utah Tax Help is open to anyone who earns less than $56,000. This includes retired individuals that are taking Continued page 12
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‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ comes to life
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Sharon Holland guides Carlos Higueros through his taxes to find him the maximum return. (Sarah Taggart/City Journals)
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Draper Park honor students donate books
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Food competitions take the cake
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