Free Tax Help Available to Chicago Residents

Free Tax Assistance will begin on February 08, 2021. Make an Appointment Today!

The City of Chicago is committed to ensuring that hardworking Chicagoans can access FREE tax services to file their returns and claim their tax refunds. The City of Chicago works with its nonprofit partner, Ladder Up, to offer free tax help throughout the tax season and at various points in the off-season.

Please note that Ladder Up is now operating Drop-off Tax Services only and will require everyone to have an appointment before entering a location.

Drop-Off Tax Services: (Masks are required at all times)

Make an appointment to bring your tax documents to a new Drop-Off Tax Assistance site: Click Here to Make an Appointment Today or call (312) 588-6900

• Pick up your Intake Packet at your local site and fill it out before your appointment, if possible.
• At your appointment, work with a volunteer to complete any questions you are unsure of during the intake process.
• The volunteer will scan your tax documents to allow Ladder Up tax volunteers to prepare and review your return completely virtual – you will not need to wait at the site for your return to be prepared.
• If you do not have access to email, make a follow-up appointment to visit the Drop-Off site to pick up and review your completed tax return, or you can ask that we email your return to you and go over it with you over the phone.

Please refer to the “Eligibility and What to Bring” tab at the top of the page to ensure you have all your documents and are eligible for free services. There might be other out-of-scope cases not listed in which Ladder Up cannot provide services. Please visit goladderup.org/TAP for more information.

Note that the IRS tax deadline is April 15, 2021. Please also note that if the Federal and State governments owe you a refund, there is no penalty for filing after the April 15 deadline.

• Download 2021 Tax Prep Chicago Flyer (English)
• Download 2021 Tax Prep Chicago Flyer (Spanish)