With ‘Tax Time’ upon us I want to alert taxpayers to a free tax-preparation service offered AAPR, the American Association of Retired Persons. The AARP Tax-Aide Program is open to people of all ages, whether they are members of the association or not.
As tax season gets under way, its nice to know that local taxpayers have the option of free services to prepare their state and federal tax returns. Last year the Tax-Aide program helped more than 10,000 Mainers claim more than 10 million in Federal funds, including more than 2 million in the Earned Income Tax Credit refunds.
The Tax-Aide program operates nationally and has 80 sites here in Maine. In Farmington the group to contact is the Western Maine Cash Coalition operating at UMF. Their offices are open until April 15th and you can set up an appointment by phone their number is 778-7954. The program is staffed by trained instructors who have passed an IRS test before being permitted to work as Tax-Aide counselors. With tax laws changing constantly, the instructors must be certified annually. The Tax_Aide services include free electric filing, which ensures more accurate tax returns and faster processing of refunds.
The Tax-Aide program has been offering free income tax preparation for more than 40 years, but many people have still not heard of it. Other assume they are not eligible to take advantage of it because they are not AARP members. These assumptions are generally wrong, their are no age or income limits and program staffers can handle almost all individual state and federal tax returns. Tax-Aide instructors are trained to assist with filing the 1040 form and most common of the schedules, including schedules A and B. Taxpayers with unusually complicated returns are encouraged to seek professional help.
For more information on the program please call 211 or go online at www.211maine.org. Tax-Aide site information is also available at aarp.org/money/taxaide or by calling 1-888-687-2277
