Free Tax Preparation

Tax Prep Services Are Now Closed

As of April 11th, our free tax preparation services are now closed for the 2025 season. We are no longer accepting appointments or walk-ins. Thank you to everyone who chose to file with Just A Start and to our dedicated volunteers who made this service possible. We appreciate you!

File with Just A Start

Just A Start partners with the IRS to offer Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) tax preparation services free of charge from February 2 to April 10, 2025. VITA-certified volunteers help ensure that eligible families with income below $75,000 receive all available tax credits and avoid high-cost or untrustworthy tax preparation services.

WHAT TO KNOW

Common Reasons for Being Turned Away

  • Participants do not have a valid photo ID for themselves and their spouse.
  • Participants do not have their original social security cards for everyone on the return, including dependents.
  • Participants have a combined household income of more than $75,000.
  • If filing jointly, one spouse is not physically present (with valid ID to sign).

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS

We must have all required tax forms and documentation in order to complete your return.

If we determine that you are missing any documents, we will give you back all of your paperwork and ask you to return another day with the missing documents. We DO NOT retain any paperwork.  Click our checklist below to view necessary documents.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Free Tax Preparation Services are available at two locations between Sunday, February 2, 2025 and Thursday, April 10, 2025. 

Service at each location is walk-in only. No appointment needed. 

402 Rindge Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140

Last In-person or Drop-off session – Tuesday, April 8

In-person service when we open. We may switch to Drop-Off / Pick-Up depending on volunteer availability.

SUNDAY

11:00am to 1:30pm

TUESDAY

5:30pm to 8:00pm

55 Norfolk St
Cambridge, MA 02139

Last Drop-off session – Thursday, April 10

Drop-Off / Pick-Up service only.

THURSDAY

11:00am to 1:30pm

SERVICE TYPES

IN-PERSON SERVICE: Your taxes are completed on the same day, and you leave with signed copy.

DROP OFF/PICK-UP SERVICE: Fill out an intake form and leave your documents with us. We’ll complete your return and contact you to sign in person or digitally via secure email.

Frequently Asked Questions

As of March 14, we will be limiting the number of tax returns we can accept each session to 18. If we reach our limit, we will have intake forms available for filers to take, fill out, and bring back to another session.  Please note many people are eligible to file their taxes for free directly through the IRS

Until March 15, 2025, we will prepare up to two prior-year returns for each taxpayer/couple.

Starting March 16, 2025, we will no longer prepare prior-year returns.

55 Norfolk Street

This site is drop-off/pick-up only and your taxes will not be done the same day at this site. As long as we have not reached our daily limit (see above), we will accept drop-offs for everyone that arrives during our tax site hours.

402 Rindge Avenue

We will always start out the day with full in-person service, meaning that we prepare your return the same day. However, the demand for our services is very high, and we have a limited number of volunteers available, so we may not always be able to finish everyone’s return the same day. For the best chance of getting your return prepared the same day, we recommend arriving as early as possible.

We may need to switch to Drop-Off / Pick-Up service for the rest of the day if we do not have enough volunteer availability to prepare all returns, and we will do our best to communicate when this happens. As long as we have not reached our daily limit (see above), we will accept drop-offs for everyone that arrives during our tax site hours

CONTACT US

If you have additional questions please email [email protected] or leave a message at 617-918-7525.

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