{"id":39505,"date":"2026-02-03T19:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=39505"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:12:17","slug":"mayor-mamdani-joins-dcwp-and-nyc-health-hospitals-to-promote-free-tax-preparation-services-for-new-yorkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/39505","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani joins DCWP and NYC Health + Hospitals to promote free tax preparation services for New Yorkers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NEWYORK: Mayor Mamdani joined the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), NYC Health + Hospitals and\u00a0MetroPlusHealth\u00a0to kick off the 2026 tax season by announcing free, in-person and virtual tax preparation services for New Yorkers as part of DCWP\u2019s\u00a0NYC Free Tax Prep\u00a0initiative.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last year 110,000 returns were completed through NYC Free Tax Prep, saving New Yorkers an average of $346 in tax preparation fees per return and approximately $38.2 million citywide.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the administration is focused on pairing the free tax preparation program with compliance in the paid tax preparer industry to protect all New Yorkers from unfair fees,\u00a0sketchy\u00a0loan products, and other deceptive corporate activity.<\/p>\n<p>This will include a citywide sweep of paid tax preparer locations to ensure they are following the law, as well as compliance notices warning paid tax preparers of the City\u2019s ban on illegal overcharging and hidden fees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew Yorkers shouldn\u2019t have to jump through hoops or pay outrageous fees just to file their taxes,\u201d\u00a0said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough NYC Free Tax Prep, our administration is working across agencies to\u00a0deliver exactly that\u2014helping New Yorkers\u00a0file for free,\u00a0receive the tax refunds they\u2019re owed, and\u00a0avoid\u00a0hidden fees and tax scams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NYC Free Tax Prep\u00a0program\u00a0is available\u00a0to anyone who lives or works in New York City and\u00a0who earns\u00a0$97,000 or less annually and files\u00a0as a family, or those who earn $68,000 or less annually and file as an individual or couple without a dependent\u00a0\u2013 making half of all New Yorkers eligible for the program.<\/p>\n<p>Services\u00a0are available now\u00a0at over\u00a0140\u00a0Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)\u00a0and\u00a0Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE)\u00a0sites around the city.\u202fVolunteer providers are\u00a0equipped to\u00a0connect\u00a0filers with\u00a0assistance\u00a0for their\u00a0questions about managing\u00a0student loan debt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo New Yorkers: protect your budget and skip pricey paid tax preparation if you can.\u00a0Our\u00a0knowledgeable\u00a0preparers will\u00a0ensure\u00a0you get your full refund and all credits you may be\u00a0eligible\u00a0for,\u00a0like the recently\u00a0enhanced Empire State Child Tax Credit,\u201d<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>said DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis tax season, DCWP\u00a0is\u00a0ramping\u00a0up efforts to protect New Yorkers from\u00a0sketchy\u00a0tax\u00a0scams. And, as student loan borrowers face unprecedented confusion\u00a0due to harmful policies at the federal level, NYC Free Tax Prep has never been more important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinancial stability is a fundamental contributor to overall health and well-being,\u201d said\u00a0NYC Health + Hospitals Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer Nichola Davis, MD, MS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince 2018, we have scaled our partnership with NYC Tax Prep from a single pilot site to 15 locations\u00a0in 2026. By\u00a0helping our patients secure\u00a0free filing and\u00a0tax credits,\u00a0we are reducing\u00a0some of\u00a0the\u00a0financial\u00a0stress that often stands in the way of good health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew Yorkers should not have to choose between spending money on tax preparation services or rent, food, or childcare,\u201d\u00a0said Council Member Harvey Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Chair of the Consumer and Worker Protection Committee, I applaud the Mayor and the DCWP\u2019s initiatives to help thousands of\u00a0low income\u00a0New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew Yorkers can once again access free, in\u2011person tax preparation at select\u00a0MetroPlusHealth\u00a0community offices, along with virtual support from trained volunteers,\u201d\u00a0said Dr. Talya Schwartz, President and Chief Executive Officer of\u00a0MetroPlusHealth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor many working families, no\u2011cost tax\u00a0assistance\u00a0can have a meaningful impact.\u00a0MetroPlusHealth\u00a0remains\u00a0deeply committed to helping provide essential services \u2014 from helping individuals enroll in quality health insurance to offering free tax preparation. Whether someone\u00a0requires\u00a0comprehensive guidance or just a bit of support, our team stands ready to help them successfully file their taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGotham Health is proud to\u00a0participate\u00a0in the NYC Free Tax Prep initiative and to offer this vital service directly in our health centers across New York City. We believe access to high-quality care must also include access to the financial resources that support healthier lives,\u201d\u00a0said Michelle Lewis, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals\/Gotham Health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe encourage eligible New Yorkers to schedule an appointment and take advantage of free support to file accurately and claim the credits and refunds they have earned.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYORK: Mayor Mamdani joined the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), NYC Health + Hospitals and\u00a0MetroPlusHealth\u00a0to kick off the 2026 tax season by announcing free, in-person and virtual tax preparation services for New Yorkers as part of DCWP\u2019s\u00a0NYC Free Tax Prep\u00a0initiative. Last year 110,000 returns were completed through NYC Free Tax Prep, saving New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39507,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39505\/revisions\/39507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}