File for Free and Claim the Credits You Earned

You must file a federal tax return if your income is above a certain amount for your filing status, or if you had $400 or more in net self-employment earnings. But many people should file even when they do not have to. Filing lets you:

• Get back federal income tax that was taken out of your pay.
• Claim refundable credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which can pay you even if you owe no tax.
• Claim local credits, such as the DC property tax credit for renters.
• Show proof of income for apartment and loan applications.

Missed a year? You generally have three years from the original due date to file and claim a refund.

You do not need to pay to file. Start with these free options:

• VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance): IRS-certified volunteers prepare and e-file your return for free. VITA serves people who generally earn about $70,000 a year or less (the 2026 guideline, which changes each year), people with disabilities, and people who speak limited English. Most sites are open from about February to April. Use the IRS site locator (you can search by language) or call 800-906-9887.
• TCE and AARP Foundation Tax-Aide: free help, with a focus on people 60 and older. Call 888-227-7669.
• IRS Free File: free guided tax software. For the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), it was for people with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $89,000 or less. Each software company can add its own rules. Start at IRS.gov so you get the free version.
• DC returns: many DC residents can file their DC return for free online at MyTax.DC.gov.

IRS Direct File, a free filing tool run by the IRS, was not offered in the 2026 filing season.

Local help: in DC, the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) lists free tax clinics each season at disb.dc.gov/freetaxprepresources. In Maryland, the CASH Campaign of Maryland lists free tax help across the state, including sites for Montgomery County and Prince George's County residents. In Northern Virginia, use the IRS site locator.

• Photo ID for you, and for your spouse if you file together
• Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone on the return, and their birth dates
• All Forms W-2, 1099-NEC, 1099-K, 1099-MISC, and 1099-G (for unemployment pay)
• Records of self-employment income and expenses, including your mileage log
• Form 1095-A, if you bought health insurance through a marketplace
• Child care costs, with the provider's name, address, and tax ID number
• For DC renters: the total rent you paid and your landlord's name, address, and phone number
• Last year's tax return, if you have it
• Any IP PIN letter from the IRS
• Your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit

Direct deposit is the fastest and safest way to get a refund. You can even split it into up to three accounts, such as your checking account and your emergency fund. Since the end of September 2025, the IRS has generally stopped mailing paper refund checks. If you file without account information, the IRS holds your refund and mails you a letter (Notice CP53E). The letter asks you to add an account within 30 days. If you do not answer, the IRS mails a paper check, but only after about six weeks. Some prepaid cards and payment apps have routing and account numbers that can receive a refund. No account? See our lesson on opening an account before you file, or ask your VITA volunteer about your options.

If you must file taxes but cannot get a Social Security number (SSN), you can use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). A spouse or dependent who cannot get an SSN may also need one.

1. Fill out Form W-7.
2. Attach it to your federal tax return and send it by the filing deadline.
3. Include documents that prove who you are and your foreign status, such as a passport. Send originals or copies certified by the agency that issued them.
4. To avoid mailing original documents, you can go to a Certifying Acceptance Agent or an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (by appointment). Some VITA sites can also help with Form W-7.
5. Wait about 7 weeks for an answer, or 9 to 11 weeks during tax season (January 15 to April 30).

An ITIN expires if you do not use it on a federal tax return for three tax years in a row. It expires on December 31 of the third year. To renew, send a new Form W-7 and check the box for renewal. Filing with an expired ITIN can delay your refund and cause you to lose some credits.

An ITIN is for taxes only. It does not give you permission to work, change your immigration status, or qualify you for Social Security benefits or the federal EITC. If you have questions about how filing could affect an immigration matter, talk first to an immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative, not a notario. See scams that target newcomers.

Federal credits and deductions

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): for the 2025 tax year, up to $649 with no children and up to $8,046 with three or more children. You, your spouse if you file together, and each child you claim must have a valid SSN. Workers with no children must be at least 25 and under 65.
• Child Tax Credit: for the 2025 tax year, up to $2,200 for each child under 17, and up to $1,700 of it can be paid to you as a refund. You must have a valid SSN. On a joint return, only one spouse needs a valid SSN, and the other can use an ITIN. The child must have a valid SSN.
• Credit for other dependents: up to $500 for some dependents who do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.
• New deductions for tips and overtime (tax years 2025 to 2028): up to $25,000 of qualified tips for workers in jobs that usually received tips, and the extra "half" of time-and-a-half overtime pay required by federal law, up to $12,500 ($25,000 on a joint return). Both require an SSN that is valid for work and are reduced for income over $150,000 ($300,000 joint). They lower federal income tax only, not Social Security and Medicare tax. DC does not allow them on DC returns for 2025, and Maryland and Virginia may not follow them either.

DC, Maryland, and Virginia credits

• DC EITC: for the 2025 tax year, equal to 100% of your federal EITC. DC also allows certain ITIN filers who meet the other federal rules.
• DC Schedule H (Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Credit): for the 2025 tax year, up to $1,425 for people who rented or owned their home and lived in DC all year, with federal adjusted gross income of $66,000 or less ($90,000 or less if age 70 or older). You cannot claim it if you lived in public or subsidized housing during the year. You can file it even if you do not have to file a DC tax return, and you may be able to claim it for past years you missed.
• Maryland EITC: if you are married or have qualifying children, up to half of your federal EITC. With no children, up to the full federal amount. ITIN filers and workers aged 18 to 24 with no children may also qualify. Some filers also get a refundable Maryland credit or a local credit.
• Virginia EITC: for the 2025 tax year, Virginia residents who got the federal EITC could claim a refundable credit equal to 20% of it.

By law, if you claim the EITC or the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit, the IRS cannot send your refund before mid-February. It holds the whole refund, not just the credit.