MADISON, Wis. — With Tax Day a little more than a month away, Dane County hopes seniors, low-income residents, and people with disabilities use a free service to get the most from their taxes.

The tax prep assistance could become even more vital to the community as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) drafts plans to cut its workforce.

What You Need To Know

  • The Richard Dilley Tax Center offers free tax preparation assistance to residents of Dane County
  • Services are for low-income individuals, families, seniors, and people with disabilities

  • During the 2024 tax year, 2,894 returns were prepared free of charge, resulting in more than $4.3 million in refunds to taxpayers

  • The Dane County UW Extension has been involved with the center since 2005, which relies on more than 80 volunteers and partial funding from an IRS VITA grant

During the 2024 tax year, some 2,894 returns were prepared at the Richard Dilley Tax Center free of charge, which resulted in $4.3 million in refunds to taxpayers.

“Now, more than ever, we are seeing the importance of local government. We are here, on the ground, meeting the needs of our friends and neighbors,” Dane County Executive Melissa Agard said.

The Dane County UW Extension has been involved with the free tax preparation effort since 2005 and partners with the UW-Madison South Partnership Office, Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue, and the Internal Revenue Service to offer the resource to the community.

More than 80 people volunteer their time at the center, which also is funded in part by an IRS VITA grant. Though federal spending is being slashed in lots of places, local leaders are confident the service will continue.

“We believe this is going to continue happening. We are committed to supporting the people in Dane County and continuing the service that we are providing to folks for the last 24 years, and we look forward to being here again next year,” Agard added.

Without the service, organizers worry many of the people who they serve wouldn’t file taxes at all.

“What we’ve been seeing is a lot of people who, perhaps they were receiving their documents electronically, they are having trouble collecting all the data,” Clare Dahl, a financial educator with the UW-Madison Extension in Dane County, explained. “We’ve been seeing a lot of first-time filers, whether they are young people or newly arrived immigrants, that really have little or no knowledge of the tax system.”

Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, relying on a mix of layoffs and incentivized buyouts, the IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of government.

Thursday is the deadline for federal agencies, including the IRS, to submit plans to scale back its workforce of nearly 90,000 employees nationwide, according to a White House memo sent out late last month.

At this time, it’s unknown if the Trump administration will approve that plan or what time it will take to implement it.

The Richard Dilley Tax Center is open on Mondays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. You can make an appointment online here.

You can also call 608-283-1261 to book an appointment. Phones are answered Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

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