Filing Taxes – Frequently Asked Questions

If your household income is below $70,000 and you live in central Ohio, our services are completely free of charge.

There are some situations where we may not be able to file your taxes for you. If this happens, we will discuss options with you at your appointment. Please contact us within a week of your appointment date if you are unsure about your eligibility.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers free tax prep at several Columbus locations. Visit our Locations page for details about days, hours and the types of services offered at each location.

You can schedule online and receive reminder notifications. This is the quickest, most efficient way to make an appointment.

If you aren’t sure about scheduling online, you can call 211. An outreach specialist will help you schedule an appointment that works best for you and your family.

Visit our What to Expect page to see the list of items you should bring to your appointment.

No catch. As a trusted part of the community, Nationwide Children’s works every day to support families just like yours. We care about all aspects of your family’s well-being. That includes your financial well-being.

No! This service is available to anyone in the community and whose total income for filing is less than $70,000. Our main goal is to help as many families as possible access credits, get refunds they have earned and keep the money they would spend at other tax filing services. 

United Way provides additional resources and clinics. If you need additional support, call 211 to find a United Way location to fit your needs and schedule an appointment.

Information regarding services in Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties is available below.

If you do not live in these counties but need assistance, please call United Way at 2-1-1.

• Delaware County: Free tax preparation services are available through Bridges Community Action (Delaware County).
• Fairfield County: The United Way of Fairfield County offers free tax return preparation through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) and TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) programs. Visit UWayFairfieldCo.org for more information.
• Licking County: Licking County Coalition for Housing provides free tax preparation through the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Appointments are required. Call (740) 345-1970 ext. 200 to schedule. Visit www.lcchousing.org or Facebook.com/LCCHousing for more info.
• Morgan, Muskingum and Perry Counties: United Way of Muskingum, Perry, and Morgan Counites provides free federal and state tax preparation to low-income community members. Call 2-1-1 to schedule an appointment or visit www.unitedwayofmpm.org for more info.

• Yes, filing your taxes is a requirement for most people and allows you to track your income, claim refunds and access tax credits.
• If your family had income from working in 2025, there is a good chance you will get money back in the form of tax credit refunds like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
• If you owe the government money, filing can protect you from owing an even larger sum later.
• If you choose to work with us to file your taxes, we will prepare your taxes and go over them with you before filing. We won’t file unless you give us the final OK.

A 1099 form shows income you might have earned from a source other than traditional employment.

• You receive a 1099-NEC or a 1099 -MISC if you have income from contract or “gig” work. This includes work with contractors, like Uber, Lyft, InstaCart or Grubhub.
• This type of document is also common for workers who act as independent contractors, such as housekeepers, some home health care workers,and musicians. You will usually have to pay taxes on this income.
• Sometimes, filers are surprised to find they owe money at tax time when they have 1099 income. This happens because the tax rate on this income is higher, and because there is usually not any money withheld (Box 4 on your 1099) to cover any taxes you might owe.

If you have 1099 income, there are things you can do to help reduce the amount you will owe at filing time.

• If the provider of this income allows you to withhold money to pay federal taxes, you should take advantage of this and have some money withheld.
• If withholding is not an option, you can set some of the money aside in case you need it to pay taxes owed at tax time.
• You can set up a personal account with the IRS and make quarterly payments in advance to cover any taxes you might owe.
• Make sure to keep track of all of your driving mileage and other expenses. These things can be used to reduce your overall income and can help reduce the amount of taxes owed.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a work credit that may give you money back at tax time or help you pay some of the federal taxes you owe. You can claim the credit whether you’re single or married or have children or don’t have children. The main requirement is that you must earn money from a job.

If the EITC amount is more than what you owe in taxes, the government will give you the extra money back in your tax refund. If you qualify for the credit, you can still receive a refund even if you do not owe income tax.

You can access the EITC estimator here. This tool explains EITC in further detail and provides estimates.

 Yes. In 2025, the Child Tax Credit increases to $2,200 per qualifying child. This is an increase from the previous amount of $2,000.  Additionally, there are more rigorous requirements regarding citizenship status. To qualify for the CTC in 2025, both the taxpayer (or at least one spouse on a joint return) and the qualifying child must have work-eligible Social Security Numbers. To qualify for this credit, the following criteria must be met:

• The child must be under the age of 17 at the end of the tax year.
• The child must live with the taxpayer for more than half of the year.
• The taxpayer must claim the child as a dependent on their return.
• Both the child and the taxpayer (or a spouse on a joint return) must have valid Social Security Numbers.

As soon as our experts enter all your information into the tax software, they will be able to tell you everything you need to know.

• They can show you credits you qualify for
• The amount of any refunds coming your way
• If you owe, how much you owe

And remember, you get to review all information before deciding to file.

Once you give us the go ahead, our experts can file electronically on the spot. If the information filed checks out with what the government has on record, and if you use electronic direct deposit, it usually takes about 10 to 14 days for the money to arrive in your bank account.

Starting September 2025, the IRS will phase out paper refund checks and payments.

Most refunds will be delivered by direct deposit or other secure electronic methods.

Options such as prepaid debit cards, digital wallets or limited exceptions will be available for those without access to bank accounts.

We know there are a lot of options out there. We understand if you choose to go in another direction. If you decide to file another way, please be sure to pay attention to the services being offered.

• Make sure all fees and charges are given to you in writing up front.
• Make sure there is not an extra fee for filing your state taxes.
• Watch out for services that require you to deposit your refund money in their company bank account. Legitimate free services will always deposit funds directly in your account or make sure a check is sent directly to your home address.

These services don’t actually file your taxes early. They use basic information about your income and filing status to give you an advance or a loan based on the projected amount of your refund. Your taxes won’t be filed until February when the IRS filing portal opens.

Also, because the payment you get with these services is a loan, there is usually a fee or interest that you have to pay to get that money. Sometimes those fees can be as high as $500 or $600. If you can wait a few weeks, services like ours can help you receive your refund completely free. No fees. No interest. Just your full refund deposited directly to your bank account or mailed directly to your home.

Health insurance purchased in the Health Insurance Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA also often called “Obamacare”) can impact your tax filing. You might have received premium credits that helped reduce the monthly cost of your coverage. Those credits are actually advanced payments of tax credits. The amount of those credits is based on the income you report when you enroll in coverage.

If your income changed during the year, this could change the amount of credit for which you are eligible. When you enter your information to prepare your taxes, it will automatically reconcile the premium credits you received with the actual credits for which you were eligible.

• If your income was higher than you estimated at enrollment:
  • You will probably have to pay back some of the advance credits you were awarded.
  • If you are eligible for a tax refund, the amount you have to pay back will be taken from your refund.
  • If you are not eligible for a refund, the amount you have to pay back will be considered an owed tax payment.

• If your income was lower than you estimated at enrollment:
  • You might be eligible for additional credits to help pay your premiums.
  • If you are eligible for a larger credit than you were awarded, that amount will be added to any tax refund for which you are eligible or could be used to reduce any amount of tax you owe.

Prior to filing your tax return, you should receive an IRS Form 1095-A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement. You should also be able to view this form in your Health Insurance Marketplace Account. This form will show your monthly premiums and the monthly credits you were advanced to help pay your costs.

Avoid having your insurance coverage impact your tax return by reporting any changes in income through your Health Insurance Marketplace Account.