Mercy Housing offering free tax preparation services

Filing taxes can be a real headache, but we have some good news for those of you who live here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

News 25’s Toni Miles shows us one local nonprofit that’s providing free tax preparation services for those who need it most.

It’s often said that nothing in life is free, but that’s just not the case at Mercy Housing and Human Development. The Gulfport nonprofit is offering free tax preparations for those who need help filing their 2020 returns. Mercy Housing and Human Development Executive Director Julie Egressy said, “If you just come up to our drop box, we’re located at 1135 Ford Street, right next to the Mardi Gras Supply Store. Our drop box is to the left of our door. This is our envelope that we’re going to have out in our drop box. On the front is going to be your name, email address and phone number. On the back, it’s going to be crucial for you to fill this out. This signature you put here on the back is what allows us to do your taxes remotely.”

No one will be turned away and letting Mercy Housing and Human Development’s IRS certified employees prepare your taxes could save you as much as $300 and to help recover stimulus money you never received or did not receive in full. “What’s new this year is the stimulus recovery credit that you can get for your stimulus check.”

And limited assistance is also available for those of you who have had struggles with COVID or Hurricane Zeta. Paula Chamberlain with Mercy Housing said, “People who have had damage from the hurricane, they can apply through our organization and Community Bank, and FHLB Bank will fund them up to $10,000 for recovery from the hurricane damage.”

For more information on Mercy Housing and Human Development’s hurricane disaster assistance or free tax prep visit www.mhhd.org or call 228-896-1945.