Mary Anne is the district coordinator of the AARP TaxAide free income tax preparation program. She has been volunteering for the last 40 years. We were introduced to her by Terry Kramer, who has been volunteering over the last 20 years. The service is a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and the AARP Foundation. Their program focus is individuals over age 60 with fairly simple tax returns. There is no income limit, however, complicated returns can be out of “scope”, meaning complicated returns that require more training. They are better to use a CPA.
The Internal Revenue Service also sponsors a program called VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). This program has an income limit of $69,000 and also requires uncomplicated tax returns.
Last year the program had 28,000 volunteers across the country. But, it's not enough! The demand is significant and they can only help as many people as they have volunteers. They have significant goals to help more people each tax season. Many eligible taxpayers are paying $150-$600 in fees each year that amount to billions of dollars that could have been used to cover a month of rent or medication.
Volunteers receive training and must be certified by passing a test prior to preparing returns. There are many resources to set a volunteer up for success. There are online and in-person trainings. TaxAide does 2-3 days in person. Organizers, like Mary Anne, make themselves available for additional assistance if needed. If for some reason you don't want to prepare returns, there are other available volunteers positions. You could be a greeter to check people in, for example. The local AARP TaxAide training is typically the second week of January. Volunteer hours during tax season are as much or as little as your time allows.
Locally, sites include the Moline Library, Rock Island Township on 7th Avenue, and the Project Now Senior Center on Saturday. They require appointments, however, if time allows, they will accept walk-in appointments.
Do you have any time to give, or know someone who would benefit from free income tax preparation?
