AARP might have to close Tax-Aide offices
By DAWNE LEIKER
Kansas AARP Tax-Aide is recruiting volunteers to help Kansas taxpayers prepare and file their tax returns next year.
"Right now, it's critical we get more volunteers," said Bill Peterson, volunteer partnership and communication specialist. Without volunteers, several offices might have to be closed.
AARP Tax-Aide is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service, and has more than 300 volunteers in Kansas working in more than 100 tax sites in the state.
Volunteers receive free tax training and are reimbursed on a limited basis for qualified program-related expenses and do not need to be an AARP member or retiree to participate. Although volunteers must be computer literate, they are not required to have extensive tax law knowledge.
"We're trying to get people through the application process and interview them and let them know the commitment. We want to make sure the expectations are right, and they are prepared," Peterson said.
The northwest Kansas area is in need of volunteers in Hays, Plainville, WaKeeney, Russell and Phillipsburg. Peterson said recruiting volunteers in those areas is critical, and offices in Russell, Plainville and Phillipsburg are in danger of closing this year unless volunteers in those communities step forward.
Volunteers at the local level will be provided instructional materials from the Internal Revenue Service and AARP. After undergoing formal training in January, volunteers will be required to take a certification test and be ready to counsel taxpayers by Feb. 1.
Time commitments for volunteers vary from site to site, with four or five hours a week minimum. Some sites might open only a few days during the tax season, and others are open five or six days a week, Peterson said.
Instructor trainings will be in Overland Park in December and Salina and Colby in January.
"Instructors can get caught up on all the latest tax law changes and the latest tips on how to teach their volunteers," Peterson said. "After that, those instructors teach locally in their own districts throughout the state."