02.09.2022

Military Saves Tax Time Toolkit

Supporting our Savers and the military community on their financial wellness journey means ensuring they have the guidance and support necessary this time of year.

This time of year, supporting our Savers and the military community on their financial wellness journey means ensuring they have the guidance and support necessary this time of year. With many life-changes happening constantly, such as transitioning out of the military, PCSing, and other big life changes – questions are always a normal part of the process. That’s why we want to make sure our Savers have the information they need to navigate their tax time experience confidently and smoothly.

From preparing to file and accessing tax prep help, to understanding the best ways to put those refund dollars to work, this Partner Resource Packet is filled with resources, tools, and guidance to help our Savers make the most of this tax season! 

Read through and share the information in this resource packet with your audiences.

Social Media Posts

Please share these social media posts with your Savers on appropriate channels or in your communications and newsletters. This content works for your community, employees, audience, constituents, customers, students, and members.

Download Graphics Here

Post A


With #taxtime right around the corner, it’s important to be aware of how to protect yourself from potential fraud. To learn more, visit the IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft here https://bit.ly/3GaLf6o

Post B


Did you know that VITA sites offer free tax prep help to qualifying taxpayers? To learn more and find out if you qualify, visit https://bit.ly/3qUL492

POST C

Have you already taken the Military Saves Pledge? If not, tax time is the perfect time! Set a goal, make a plan, and put those tax refund dollars to work for you! Take the pledge here https://militarysaves.org/pledge/

POST D

You might know that a great way to save during tax time is by splitting your refund and saving automatically. But did you also know that the IRS has an online resource to help you understand how to make this happen? Well, they do! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/32VZHkc

Blog Posts:

 

Split It! Have A Plan For Your Refund:
https://militarysaves.org/resource-center/insights/split-it-have-a-plan-for-your-refund/

 

5 Things To Keep In Mind This Tax Season

https://militarysaves.org/resource-center/insights/five-things-to-keep-in-mind-this-tax-season/

 

3 Free Ways To File Your Taxes

https://militarysaves.org/resource-center/insights/three-free-we-promise-ways-to-file-your-taxes/

 

Tips To Prepare You For Your Tax Preparation Appointment

https://militarysaves.org/resource-center/insights/tips-to-prepare-you-for-your-tax-preparation-appointment/

Military Saves Resources & Tools:

Free Financial Counseling and Coaching As we’ve mentioned before, tax time provides many with a great opportunity to make positive changes in their financial lives. Because of this, there’s no better time than now to connect with a free financial counselor or coach! At America Saves we believe that all Americans deserve access to a qualified financial professional. That’s why we teamed up with AFCPE® and the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) to offer financial coaches and counselors to our Savers at no cost to them! 

 

At a time when many will be figuring out how to best put their refunds to use, an Accredited Financial Counselor or Coach can help individuals get a clear view of where they are, identify a path to achieve their goals, and connect them with many local resources that can help. Additionally, encouraging your community to take of free counseling or coaching is a proactive way to help them build financial confidence.


To learn more about this valuable partnership, including how to access the counseling services visit here: https://americasaves.org/resource-center/insights/free-financial-counseling/

Partner Organization Resources & Highlights:

Free Tax Help with IRS VITA For over fifty years IRS, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites have offered free tax prep help to qualifying individuals across the country. VITA help can commonly be found at a variety of community locations, such as churches, libraries, schools, and more. These sites are an excellent resource for your community members because, in addition to being free, they are run by capable volunteers who are IRS-Certified.

What To Know About VITA

  • VITA sites are available for free to qualifying individuals, including those who make $57,000 or less annually, limited English-speaking tax payers, and people with disabilities.
  • When visiting a VITA site, preparation is key! The IRS offers a helpful What to Bring resource that highlights the necessary documents to help prepare taxpayers for their visit.
  • VITA sites offer can vary in the services they offer from community to community, so it’s important to ensure that the site chosen by a taxpayer is an appropriate fit for their needs.

To learn more about VITA and to locate a site in your area, visit the IRS website.

IRS Online Tools & Resources Be sure to check out the many tools and resources offered to you by the IRS. The IRS has a lot of helpful insight and guidance to make tax prep a breeze, including information on:

  • Filing a return
  • Correcting or amending a return
  • How to check refund status
  • Information about payment & penalties
  • Coronavirus tax relief info

CFPB Tips for Using Your Tax Refund to Build Your Savings! Check out this helpful guide from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filled with lots of tips and insight focused on helping you and your community learn how maximize your tax refund by putting it work to grow your savings.

Tax Time Guidance for Gig Workers Many employees took on new and alterative approaches to work this year in the face of an ongoing global health crisis. For those who are new to gig work, the IRS has created a helpful resource to make tax prep easier! This resource provides guidance on record keeping, paying estimated taxes, preparing to file, and filing your tax return. Be sure to share this resource with your community so every worker is prepared to file!

Videos:

Watch and share these videos from America Saves that highlight helpful tax time tips and guidance!

Words of Advice – Use VITA 

This short, helpful video clip highlights a valuable moment from our tax-focused #ThinkLikeASaver Town Hall. This video is a great resource for those who are looking for guidance on whether they should seek out help with preparing their taxes! Let panelist Cara Williams, Finance Director at Reinvestment Partners, explain the importance and benefit of accessing a local VITA site.

You can watch the video clip here.

#ThinkLikeASaver Town Hall – Save for the Unexpected with your Tax Refund 

What better time than tax time to revisit our tax-focused #ThinkLikeASaverTownHall? Our Save for the Unexpected with your Tax Refund Town Hall was a virtual event that brought together the America Saves & Military Saves team with industry experts to focus on and highlight the ways that you and your community can take advantage of a tax time windfall to build your savings, increase your financial confidence and build financial resiliency! 

You can watch the replay of the #ThinkLikeASaver Save for the Unexpected with your Tax Refund here!

Events:

Military Saves Month 2022 – April 1st - 30th

This year’s Military Saves Month theme has a single focus – Building Financial Resilience. This means that we will be working together to empower our Savers across the country to take the necessary steps to increase financial confidence, build financial wellness, and become financially resilient. Join over 2000+ organizations across the country as we engage in our annual effort to encourage the military community to build financial wellness by jump starting their savings! Whether your focus is on your service members, military spouses, larger community, employees, or all of the above – there are many ways that our participating organizations choose to get involved in the Month! By signing up to participate, you’ll have exclusive access to the 2022 digital toolkit that includes a ton of resources and information for you to share with your community.


There’s still time to participate, so head over to MilitarySaves.org to sign up today!