Senior Center to provide tax help for free
Confused by constantly changing tax laws? Wonder which form you need and how to file your return?
Never fear. Your local Senior Center is here. Now Warren County residents have somewhere to go locally for help with filing their taxes. And better yet, this AARP-sponsored help is provided for free.
Called the AARP Tax Aide Program, it will be held Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a certified volunteer providing the services. It will begin in February and run through tax time in April.
The program is geared toward low- to middle-income taxpayers with special attention to those age 60 and over, though no one who requests help will be turned away. All that’s required to take advantage of this service is to call and make an appointment. An appointment can be made by calling 473-6559 and talking to any of the Senior Center personnel.
Once an appointment is made, clients should gather up all pertinent tax papers, such as W-2 forms, 1099 interest and dividend statements, records and/or documents needed to substantiate itemized deductions or to claim a childcare credit, as well as last year’s tax return.
According to Senior Center director Cheryl Watson Mingle, the local Senior Center has been providing this service for some time.
“AARP has been doing this for years in different places,” Mingle said. “And we’ve been doing it here for quite a while through either VITA or AARP.”
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) is authorized by the IRS and, like the AARP program, offers free tax preparation services for older, disabled, low-income and non-English-speaking persons. Both VITA and AARP volunteers are trained and certified by the IRS to perform these services.
Volunteers receive no payment for their work and donate their time not only for the tax sessions, but the time required for training as well.
“At the Senior Center, we try to provide any and all services we can for the community,” Mingle said.
The McMinnville/Warren County Senior Center is located at 809 Morrison Street.