Not only is there free tax help available to those who qualify, it’s also accurate.

“People don’t seem to realize that something that is free is also the best out there,” Britta Anderson, a representative of Goodwill Northern Illinois, said at a press conference Jan. 25.

The purpose of the press conference was to discuss Goodwill’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. The VITA program offers free tax preparation to anyone who meets income guidelines: a maximum annual income of $25,000 for a single person or less than $57,000 for a family. In DeKalb County, the 2013 VITA program is supported by the DeKalb CASH Coalition, the Northern Illinois University Accountancy Department, the Kishwaukee United Way, AARP, NCTC and the Internal Revenue Service.