In early 2019, Amy Spivey, Supervising Attorney of the Justice & Diversity Center’s (JDC) Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC), held three workshops in San Francisco to educate and assist taxpayers who have issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

On January 22, thirty-five people attended Spivey’s “Tax Tips for your 2018 Tax Return” presentation at the San Francisco Public Library’s main branch.  The topic was to educate attendees on the major changes for the 2018 tax season caused by the newly-enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 (TCJA) and was an encore presentation of one held in November 2018.

On January 24, twenty-five people who own below-market rate units in San Francisco attended the presentation “Taxes for Homeowners” at the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation (SFHDC) in the Bayview District.  The event was sponsored by HomeownershipSF and included presentations by SFHDC and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development on the topics of the tax benefits of homeownership in addition to the changes from the TCJA.

The San Francisco Public Library hosted “Tax Savings for Homeowners” workshop on February 6 where twenty-two attendees received a summary of tax benefits for homeowners from the LITC and information on property taxes from the Office of the Assessor-Recorder City & County of San Francisco.

LITC teamed up with Tax-Aid.org on March 27 to provide a drop-in clinic for taxpayers who have several years of unfiled returns or owe back taxes.  Clients met with tax preparers from Tax-Aig.org, and with an LITC volunteer to review any IRS notices or discuss their options for payment arrangements.  This was a new event in the LITC repertoire and LITC was excited to be joining Tax-Aid.org in offering this much needed service to the community during tax season.  The event was hosted Wells Fargo Connection Center at 333 Market Street in San Francisco.

For more information on JDC’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC), please visit: www.sfbar.org/litc.