{"id":121996,"date":"2026-02-03T23:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121996\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:17:15","slug":"mamdani-kicks-off-free-tax-prep-season-for-nyc-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121996\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani kicks off free tax prep season for NYC residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York.  Photo: Yuki Iwamura\/AP<\/p>\n<p>CITYWIDE \u2014 MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI on Tuesday joined the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, NYC Health + Hospitals and MetroPlusHealth to kick off the 2026 tax season by announcing free, in-person and virtual tax preparation services as part of the  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/site\/dca\/talk-money\/file-your-taxes.page\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NYC Free Tax Prep<\/a> initiative. Last year, 110,000 returns were completed through the program, saving residents an average of $346 in fees per return, the mayor\u2019s office said in a release.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The administration said it will also focus on protecting New Yorkers from unfair fees, sketchy loan products and other deceptive corporate activity. \u201cNew Yorkers shouldn\u2019t have to jump through hoops or pay outrageous fees just to file their taxes,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n<p>The program is available to anyone who lives or works in New York City and who earns $97,000 or less annually and files as a family, or those who earn $68,000 or less annually and file as an individual or couple without a dependent. Tax season runs from Jan. 26 to April 15. To search for the most convenient free site, call 311, visit  <a href=\"http:\/\/nyc.gov\/TaxPrep\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">nyc.gov\/TaxPrep<\/a> or use DCWP\u2019s  <a href=\"https:\/\/a866-dcwpwb.nyc.gov\/ftps_map\/#\/?search=%7B%7D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">interactive\u202fmap<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Note: The Trump administration has eliminated the free IRS Direct File program, piloted during the Biden administration and available to New Yorkers, after opposition from Republicans and for-profit  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextgov.com\/digital-government\/2025\/11\/irs-returns-relying-tax-prep-companies-free-filing-options-without-direct-file\/409375\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tax prep<\/a> corporations, according to NextGov and other outlets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2730\u2730\u2730<\/p>\n<p> <a style=\"font-size: inherit; background-color: #fefefe;\" href=\"https:\/\/brooklyneagle.com\/whats-news-breaking\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wnb-read-more aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/read-more-wnb-shad-1024x341.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"341\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSd5hEdpXLwpeWAPMPmcmdn--vHz1InXjphFdhedt_prXKoVFQ\/viewform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ultima-reader-response.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t<br \/>\n<a class=\"related-articles comment-link\" style=\"clear: both;padding-top:6px;color:#6cc4e8;\" href=\"#comments\" title=\"Leave a Comment\"\/><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/brooklyneagle.com\/365540\/this-85-year-old-tugboat-is-why-youre-not-freezing-right-now\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/012926_tugboat_ice_break-01-250x250.webp.webp\" class=\"alignleft wp-post-image\" alt=\"Tugboat operators N.D. Austin and Jean Barberis use the barge to help break up ice in Newtown Creek, Jan. 29, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales\/THE CITY\" decoding=\"async\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis 85-year-old tugboat is why you\u2019re not freezing right now<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 2 |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBrooklyn Eagle Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/brooklyneagle.com\/280149\/barge-fire-on-newtown-creek-caused-smoke-plumes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Whats-News-BKLYN-post-sky-250x250.png\" class=\"alignleft wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBarge fire on Newtown Creek caused smoke plumes to float over Long Island City<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 30 |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBrooklyn Eagle Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/brooklyneagle.com\/264913\/one-major-problem-to-preventing-nycs-return-to-a-clean-water\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Malinowski-and-the-Harbor-white-border-250x250.jpg\" class=\"alignleft wp-post-image\" alt=\"Bays within the city, like Wallabout Bay in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (shown above) have become cleaner, attracting more shore birds and aquatic life. But raw sewage in rainstorms wreaks havoc (Inset: Pete Malinowski). Photo: Mark Lennihan\/APInset courtesy of Pete Malinowski\" decoding=\"async\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNYC\u2019s dramatic return to a clean water environment is within reach, but there\u2019s one major problem<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFebruary 22 |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBrooklyn Eagle Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/brooklyneagle.com\/321940\/make-music-new-york-celebrates-the-summer-solstice\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TugShoofly2019CR-250x250.jpg\" class=\"alignleft wp-post-image\" alt=\"Tug Shoofly. Photo: N.D. Austin\" decoding=\"async\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2730PREMIUM<br \/>\u2018Make Music New York\u2019 celebrates the summer solstice with free music<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 20 |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBrooklyn Eagle Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3302,9,24,55,54,56,2780,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-121996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-breaking","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-city-news","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-taxes","15":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}