Orange County United Way’s OC Free Tax Prep served a record-breaking number of individuals and families throughout Orange County this year – helping more people than ever keep more of their hard-earned money and save towards a better future.

The 2019 OC Free Tax Prep campaign:

• Served 20,750 taxpayers throughout Orange County
• Issued $17.7 million in federal refunds, including more than $4.8 million in federal Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC)
• Saved $4.2 million in tax preparation fees

That’s a local impact of $21.9 million!

Orange County United Way partnered with 33 local organizations and hosted more than 450 free tax preparation events throughout the county to help eligible taxpayers file their taxes free of charge and see if they qualified for federal and newly expanded California EITC – a benefit available for households earning less than $55,000.

Annually, Orange County United Way leads the OC Free Tax Prep community-wide coalition of organizations and partners, manages volunteer recruitment and training, operates free tax preparation sites and a tax appointment hotline and distributes countywide awareness materials to let more residents know of this free service.

Rene and his wife Erika filed their taxes through OC Free Tax Prep for the first time this year.

Taxpayers like Rene.

Rene works in hotel hospitality. This was the first time he and his wife Erika filed through OC Free Tax Prep – saving them the $180 they paid last year to file.

“I can’t believe this service is free,” said Rene. “I saved money on filing AND got some money back.”

With their refund, they are able to pay bills and take their two-year-old daughter to Disneyland.

The same astonishment was heard from hundreds of other Orange County residents who took advantage of the service.

Rosa was surprised to find a tax filing location so close to her home and utilized the free service for the first time this tax season.

For Rosa, who lives in Costa Mesa with her four children, this was the first year she became aware of the OC Free Tax Prep program and was pleasantly surprised to find a filing location so close to her home.

“My CalEITC refund was an exciting surprise,” she said. “It’ll help with my grocery shopping.”

For the last six tax seasons, the OC Free Tax Prep program has filed more than 107,000 tax returns, supported $93 million returning to the community through tax refunds and saved taxpayers an estimated $20 million – that’s a combined local impact of $113 million for local Orange County communities.

OC Free Tax Prep volunteers smile and pose for a photo while working on-site at a local filing location.

A special thank you to the more than 450 Orange County United Way volunteers and partner agency staff members who contributed more than 17,600 volunteer hours at OC Free Tax Prep events and filing locations.

Stay tuned in December of this year for details on next year’s tax season information and OC Free Tax Prep details.

You can also sign up for mobile alerts by texting MONEYBACK to 50503 to stay up-to-date with announcements and the latest tax news.