Promoting Free Tax Preparation Services to Low- and Mid-Income Filers

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) is a local government initiative aimed at helping low-income individuals build assets and maximize their financial resources. Through OFE’s NYC Free Tax Prep program, many low- and mid-income New Yorkers are eligible to receive free tax preparation services, but most still utilize paid tax preparers. OFE engaged a Capstone team to analyze the local tax preparation marketplace. The team collected and analyzed primary data, including a consumer survey, interviews with subject matter experts and community stakeholders, and a review of paid tax preparer businesses and advertisements. The team produced a report that analyzes the factors leading eligible filers to pay for tax preparation and offers programmatic and policy recommendations for improving NYC Free Tax Prep’s promotion and utilization.