Free tax preparation available again in area
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune AARP Tax Aide volunteers from left, Rose Aguayo. Sarah Titus, Sharon Stroemer, Bob Musick and Anna Hardy are preparing for this year’s Free In-Person Tax Preparation Service.
Bob Musick, local coordinator for AARP Tax Aide, announced that free income tax return preparation and electronic filing, for California state and federal returns, will be available again this year for Madera-area residents, offered by the AARP Tax-Aide program.
Services are provided free to persons of all ages.
Tax returns are prepared by trained and certified volunteers. The returns are prepared on site, and then electronically filed the same day.
Tax help is offered to persons of all ages — you don’t have to be a senior citizen, or a member of AARP. Indeed, Tax Aide has prepared first tax returns for several 17- and 18-year-old students who had their first jobs. Last year, Tax Aide volunteers prepared and filed over 600 tax returns for Madera County residents.
Tax Aide services are also offered on Thursdays in the City of Madera, at the Annex to the First Southern Baptist Church, 711 Nebraska Avenue. There will be services available in Chowchilla and in Madera Ranchos, too. Appointments may be made for these sites by calling Sarah Titus at 706-1868.
Services are offered at the community room at the Oakhurst Library, and are available Tuesdays between Feb. 12 and April 9. Services will also be available on several Fridays and on at least one Saturday.
Appointments are required and can be made by calling Brian Ross at 559-285-1494. Persons seeking appointments are urged to call early.
AARP Tax Aide is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service available to taxpayers with low- and moderate incomes, with special attention to those aged 60 and older. More than 33,000 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers, trained in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), now help more than 2 million taxpayers file their federal, state, and local tax returns each year at nearly 7,000 AARP Tax Aide sites nationwide.
