Many qualify for free tax preparation at 6 Thurston County sites

One of the best kept secrets about income taxes is that many people can get them done — by a trained tax preparer — for free.

About 475 people are expected to go through just one of the six AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide sites in Thurston County this year, local coordinator Dave Bartruff said.

And that’s part of the secret: While the AARP Foundation sponsors the service, clients don’t have to be AARP members. The service is available to anyone with lower to middle income, Bartruff said.

On a Monday afternoon at the Chalet in Panorama, volunteers in chambray shirts were busy helping an array of clients. Patricia Herigstad, who lives nearby, was just finishing up with tax preparer Sharon Brown.

Brown and Herigstad have been involved in the program for about the same length of time, “six or seven years,” Herigstad said. “Obviously, they do a very good job.”

The service is promoted by the Thurston Asset Building Coalition, which wants taxpayers to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. A worker who had income of less than $53,267 should check eligibility for the EITC, according to coalition coordinator Mindie Reule. Research shows that the extra cash provided by the credit is mostly used for home repairs, vehicle maintenance and other necessities, Reule said.

In addition to promoting free tax help, the coalition connects people to bank accounts, credit repair services and financial education classes.

The AARP program has some limits. For example, Returns for K-1 partnership forms, most business returns and foreign income are beyond their scope, Bartruff said.

The tax filing service — which began Feb. 1 and ends April 18 (the IRS’s tax deadline this year) — is popular with seniors because many don’t have computers, and forms and publications are not as readily available at post offices and libraries as they used to be, organizers say.

“People bring in lots of paper and statements,” Bartruff said. “There’s a lot to review.”

Help is provided on a drop-in basis, and the average consultation takes an hour, but can range from 40 minutes to four hours, Bartruff said.

Sixty volunteers are providing the service this year. District coordinator Kirsten Klein said the volunteers were trained in January, with first-timers receiving eight days of instruction and veterans getting a two-day refresher.

The program could use more volunteers. The popular Lacey library site had to cut back on sessions because of a shortage of volunteers.

Volunteers need to be good at math, have a service attitude, a logical mind and good interviewing skills, Bartruff said. The training is designed so that everyone reaches an advanced level. Some specialized trainings also are available, he said.

Next year, the group will recruit potential volunteers in September or October, Klein said.

“Some good clients become volunteers,” Klein said.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Many qualify for free tax preparation at 6 Thurston County sites."