Tax help from VITA and AARP is available again this year at several of our libraries.  See our events calendar for a complete list of opportunities.

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)

VITA offers free tax help to hard working individuals and families whose income is less than $51,000. Assistance is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese at most locations. All locations provide e-File.  Volunteers are trained to prepare basic 2012 Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, 1040 with Schedule A, B, limited Schedule CEZ, C and California Income Tax Returns ONLY! You also CANNOT be filing as "Married, Filing Separate returns".

What to Bring:

• Photo ID and Social Security card or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for each family member.
• W-2 forms and all 1099, 1098  or all other tax forms you received.
• A copy of last year's tax return, if available.
• A check with your account number for direct deposit.

VITA Library Sites:

• Alum Rock Branch - Wednesdays, 6:00 - 7:30 PM, Feb. 6 - Apr. 10
• East San Jose Carnegie Branch - Saturdays, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Feb. 16 - Apr. 13
• Hillview Branch - Saturdays, 2:00 - 5:00 PM, Feb. 2 - Apr. 13
• King Library - Saturdays, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Feb. 2 - Apr. 6
• Tully Branch - Wednesdays, 5:00 - 7:30 PM, Feb. 6 - Apr. 10
• West Valley Branch - Saturdays, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Feb. 2 - Apr. 13

VITA volunteers are also available at many other Santa Clara County locations.  For questions, call 1-800-829-1040 or 1-800-906-9887.

AARP Foundation Tax Aide

Residents 60 years and older with low and moderate income can register for free assistance on their personal tax preparation. e-File is available.

AARP Library Sites

• Willow Glen Branch - Wednesdays, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Feb. 6 - Mar. 27
  Call the library at 1-408-808-3045 to register for an appointment.
  What to bring to your appointment

The AARP Tax Aide program is available at other locations thoughout the country. For questions, call 1-888-227-7669.

As sure as the sun rises in the east, tax time is here. January 30, 2013, is the first day of the season to file tax returns. The news article Get Ready to File Your Taxes provides a brief reference to the timeframe for filing returns either claiming tax credits (education credits, etc.) or filing other more complex returns.

No one likes to pay higher taxes than required. A post, Investing: Take steps now to reduce 2013 taxes, in USA Today, gives a couple tips for investors to plan ahead. As to the impact of the American Tax Relief Act 0f 2012, CCH Group provides an analysis for you to peruse. It highlights the various effects on individuals, including:

• 39.6% tax rate for incomes above $400,000 ($450,000 for families);
• All other Bush-era tax rates extended;
• And more.

There is also free Vita tax help provided "your 2012 income must be less than $51,000 and you CANNOT be filing as Married, Filing Separate return."

And for your money matters in general, please see the library's Your Money page.

Ultimately, here is the Internal Revenue Service.

Poll your friends about their family's New Year's traditions and you may discover some interesting activities going on around December 31st!

How about a kiss!?  When the ball drops (the Times Square New Year's Countdown) most people find their sweetheart and plant on them a big kiss!

My husband's family puts loose change on the doorstep on New Year's Eve and on New Year's Day brings the money inside.  Its supposed to bring money in all year long.  I did some research on this and it seems to be part of a tradition called First-Footer which is popular in Great Britain.  The first person who walks through the door in the New Year is supposed to bring in luck with them. The first-footers come around to houses just after midnight bearing symbolic gifts including bread, coal for the fire, salt and money for prosperity and a bottle of whiskey to warm the spirits. 

Some people eat black-eyed peas on New Years.  This is supposed to ensure that you'll have plenty all year.  Others eat pickled herring.  Why?  Because herring are plentiful this time of year and they are silver like coins.  Another food often eaten to ensure prosperity in the new year is cornbread - because it is gold in color.  Don't forget the grapes!  Eat 12 grapes at midnight - each one representing a month in the upcoming year.  Here is a neat article from Smithsonian Magazine on traditional New Year's foods.

No doubt, many people make new year's resolutions.  Because of this, the first week of January is officially Diet Resolution Week.  After all those holiday parties, some of us are going to need it!

What about Auld Lang Syne?  Robert Burns wrote the poem Auld Lang Syne which means "old long ago" in 1788 - he claimed it was an old song that had never been in print that he had written down from an old man.  Traditionally it is sung after the New Year is rung in. 

What traditions do you observe for New Year's?

Last week when the Lottery Prize was so high, everybody I knew was playing!  Even me, the person who can't stand to gamble, played. 

The reason I like to play the lottery is to have a day or two of really good day-dreaming about what I'd do with all that money....  Think back to what you were dreaming of last week between shelling out a couple of bucks and then realizing you didn't win. 

Stop for just a second and think.  If money were no object, what *would* you do?

Would you pay off your bills?  Set up a college fund for your kids?  Buy a new car?  Go on a trip overseas?  Quit your job and start your dream business?

Now - stop again and think about how you might actually do those things in your current financial situation.  If your dreams weren't of gold-plated cadillacs, you probably could take the steps necessary to achieve them! 

Take a look at some of these books on achieving your goals.

Isn't it great that you played the Lottery last week and lost?

Learn the top ten myths of credit. Learn how to access and initiate corrections to your credit report. Join Greg Meyer of Meriwest Credit Union for this useful workshop. This free event will take place in the Community Room of the Edenvale Branch Library on Wednesday July 27 from 6:30 until 7:30 PM.

Nolo Press has published a book called Credit Repair, written by Robin Leonard and Margaret Reiter. This book has a lot of useful information, as well as a CD-ROM which contains forms that users may print out.  

Many books published by Nolo Press are available in ebook format. To access them, visit our Downloads Page, and click on "Nolo and Other Legal Books."  If you are using a non-library computer,  you will need to log in by using your library card and pin number.  

The Owen Foote books by Stephanie Greene are a great read. My favorite is Owen Foote, Money Man. There are so many things Owen wants to buy: important things, like plastic vomit and a few newts for his aquarium. But his mother’s terms for getting an allowance seem very unreasonable. So, Owen tries to come up with some alternatives to earning an allowance, which sounds like too much work.