Free Tax Prep FAQ
Our phone lines ring constantly during tax season. We do our best to answer or get back to callers as fast as we can. Check out the Q+As below to see if we can answer your question without the hassle of a phone call.
We are able to prepare a wide variety of tax situations – whether your return is simple, complicated, or itemized!
However, there are some situations our IRS regulations do not allow for. We cannot prepare your taxes if you:
- Have income as a cab driver (but we can do Uber/Lyft income)
- Received rent payments from someone else
- Declared bankruptcy in the tax year you wish to file
There are other less common situations that are beyond our scope as well. Please call 651-287-0187 if you have questions about whether or not we can help with your tax situation.
Every return is different so processing times will vary. Most federal refunds are issued within 21 days if you e-filed with direct deposit. Some returns require additional review from the IRS and Minnesota Revenue.
Federal refunds: Check your refund status at 1-800-829-1954, www.irs.gov, or download IRS2GO mobile app.
Minnesota state refunds: Check your refund status at 651-296-4444 or www.revenue.state.mn.us.
Renter/homeowner refunds: You can check your refund status starting in July at 651-296-4444 or www.revenue.state.mn.us. Minnesota Revenue begins processing refunds in July. Generally, renters receive refunds in July or August and homeowners in September or October.
Absolutely – this is very common at Prepare + Prosper!
Are you looking to file a tax return from the last three years? All our locations should be able to assist you (given you meet our qualifications and scope of services). Just make sure to have all the appropriate paperwork, organized by the tax year(s) you wish to file. Don’t delay! Federal and state tax refunds expire after three years, and property tax refunds expire after two.
Do you need to file many years of returns or a return more than three years past? You’ll need to call 651-287-0187 to schedule an appointment at our main office. For returns that are over three years old, we kindly ask that you have a notice from the IRS or Minnesota Revenue, or owe on your taxes in order for us to do them. If you need to do several years, you may have to come in more than once as we typically can only do two tax years at each appointment.
We can assist with amended returns that were originally filed at Prepare + Prosper, however, due to limited capacity we cannot amend returns that were self-prepared or originally filed with another tax preparer.
Because of the high demand for our current year services, we will only be amending Tax Year 2020 tax returns during the 2024 tax filing season. We will amend other year tax returns when our summer sessions begin in June.
If Prepare + Prosper prepared the original tax return that needs to be amended, you do not need an appointment. You just need to complete an amendment request form and bring it to our offices.
Please call 651-287-0187 to discuss the best process for submitting the information needed to amend your return.
Yes! We can help do your property tax at the same time you file your federal and state taxes, or we can simply do the property taxes. Any of our tax sites will be able to assist with this.
Already filed your state and federal taxes with us, and just need to do your renters/homeowners refund? We’ve made it easy, just follow these steps!
- Answer all questions of the Homeowner + Renter Info form available on our Customer Tax Tools page.
- Mail or fax the Homeowner + Renter Info form with a copy of your Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) and/or Property Tax Statement from the county.
By mail: Prepare + Prosper, Attn: tax department, 2610 University Ave, Ste 450, St. Paul, MN 55114
By fax: Attn: tax department, 651-287-0190 - Wait for a copy of your completed forms to arrive by mail. Note: We prepare these returns after April 15, since the due date for property taxes isn’t until August 15.
If you filed your taxes with us, we keep copies of all tax returns on file for three years. You may give us a call at 651-287-0187 to request a copy. Due to the large amount of personal information on tax returns, we are only able to mail you a copy to the address on the return or allow you to pick it up (with identity verification).
Our administrative office hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. You can expect us to return calls during this time, and our main office (2610 University Ave, Ste 450, St. Paul, MN 55114) is also open to take walk-in questions.
Note: Our tax preparation hours do not always align with our administrative office hours.
Your Focus prepaid debit card should arrive in the mail about 7-10 business days after you file your taxes with us, with your refund directly deposited onto it. If you haven’t gotten it yet, you should contact the Focus card’s customer service at 877-474-0100 or visit the website at www.usbankfocus.com.
If you don’t have any luck, you can try us at 651-262-2167 and talk with someone on the tax + financial services team.
Free Tax Prep