Urban Upbound Tax Season 2023: Changing Lives, One Refund at a Time

Urban Upbound NYC
3 min readFeb 21, 2023

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Some of Urban Upbound’s 2023 Tax Team

Tax season can be a stressful time for anyone, but for low-income families it can be particularly daunting. Fortunately, Urban Upbound is here to help. Our free tax preparation program is designed to help individuals and families with limited incomes file their taxes and claim the credits they deserve. Last year alone, we were able to file over 12,000 returns and refund nearly $18M to the community.

Ronald Brown, a 56-year-old Queensbridge Houses resident, is just one of the thousands of individuals who have benefited from our free tax program. After losing his job due to the pandemic, Ronald struggled to make ends meet and provide for his two daughters. He came to Urban Upbound in search of a stimulus check, but to his suprise, he ended up getting so much more.

Through our tax preparation program, Ronald was able to claim the Earned Income Credit and Refundable Child Tax Credit, which resulted in a refund of $12,310 from the federal government and $2,241 from the state of New York. Ronald was overjoyed by the unexpected windfall, and he credits Urban Upbound with changing his life and the lives of his daughters.

“Community is all about helping people and that is excatly what Urban Upbound is doing. I would have never known about the thousands I was owed. We really needed this and we got it thanks to this team,” says Ronald.

Ronald’s story is not unique. Every year, thousands of low-income families miss out on valuable tax credits simply because they don’t know they exist or don’t have access to the resources they need to claim them. That’s why Urban Upbound is committed to providing free tax preparation services to all eligible residents, including NYCHA residents like Ronald.

Our program is staffed by trained tax professionals who are dedicated to helping families maximize their refunds and get the financial resources they need to thrive. We offer a range of services, including free electronic filing, tax counseling, and assistance with claiming credits like the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Education Credits.

If you or someone you know needs help filing their taxes this year, we encourage you to call (718) 784–0877 ext. 7 to make an appointment at one of our 32 tax prep sites today!

Our work wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our donors. Your donation allows us to keep reaching more families. If you’d like to learn more about our impact and work, please follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) or subscribe to our newsletter.

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Urban Upbound NYC

A collection of stories around NYC’s public housing communities curated by Urban Upbound, a non-profit organization with a mission to break cycles of poverty.