"It's a wonderful service not used as much as it should be," says Marge Slachmuylder, recently interviewed by phone from her home in Somers, N.Y. The tax preparer is among the more than 35,000 volunteers nationwide contributing their expertise in this joint IRS and AARP undertaking. Many of the volunteers are retired accountants or financial service professionals.
Free Tax Preparation Program
Available to those 60+ at facilities such as libraries and senior centers, this program can be searched on the Internet for information regarding its nearest location. Most offices do not accept appointments; clients are taken on a first come, first serve basis, says Slachmuylder. "People who come are so appreciative."
Each prepared return is reviewed by a second volunteer, ensuring two sets of eyes examine everything. Once returns are rechecked, they are e-filed, which means no forms are sent. Clients are given a printed copy of the return to keep for their records.
April 15 Deadline
Those who owe tax money have until April 15 to pay their bill even though their return has been filed. The volunteer gives them a printed voucher to be sent with their check. Others can opt to have the amount withdrawn directly from their checking account on April 15.
People owed a refund receive it much faster when their return is e-filed, says Slachmuylder. Individuals unfamiliar with IRS policies don't know they may be due a refund, she adds. A recent client who had prepared his own return asked that she check his work. He did everything perfectly, she explains, but there was one new form he didn't know about. "When I did that form, he was to get $250 back."
Volunteers work on relatively simple returns, such as for those receiving dividends, interest and perhaps wages. "We don't do returns for someone depreciating an asset or rental property or has a partnership," Slachmuylder says.
Clients are required to bring in their 2008 tax return and all official income, dividend and interest statements from 2009. "We are looking to give them the largest refund or the least balance due that is legally possible," she explains.
Slachmuylder says the tax preparers always determine whether a client should itemize deductions or if it is more advantageous for them to add property, school taxes and new car sales tax to the standard deduction. "We make sure we pick up everything to which they are entitled." (A partial listing of tax deductions and credits appears below.)
As to "gray areas" regarding income tax returns, "If someone makes up numbers, we have to alert them," Slachmuylder says. ""I am not signing their return, and they are liable for whatever they tell me." Such clients would be fined and their returns targeted. "It's a big risk. You either have a receipt or you don't. Some people live dangerously."
The volunteer tax preparers receive more than two weeks of training for the program, making them current on all information. In 2010, the tax assistance program began Feb. 1 and runs through April 15.
"We have to take basic, intermediate and advanced tests, and everything is controlled," explains Slachmuylder, a retired corporate software trainer who instructed accountants in the use of income tax software. Although not an accountant, she had also worked several years for the tax preparation company H&R Block, teaching income tax courses.
Tax Deductions, Credits, Tax-Free Policies
Slachmuylder reminds people of the following tax deductions, credits and tax-free policies, some new this year:
- Interest on mortgage payments, real estate and school taxes, contributions and sales tax on new cars, work-related job and job-search expenses can be deducted by itemizing. Property, school and sales taxes on new cars can now be deducted even if you don't itemize.
- New home credit for up to $8,000, reducing the tax amount to be paid.
- Medical expenses greater than 7 1/2 percent of income.
- Long-term care insurance qualifies for Federal and New York state deductions.
- Extra tax credit for those who have earned income, even though they receive social security. This reduces the tax amount to be paid.
- Course expenses, even if not job related.
- The first $2,400 of Unemployment Insurance is tax free this year.
- Energy tax credit for new insulation or new windows in a home or condo, reducing the tax amount to be paid.
Nadia Lerner - I worked as a staff writer in the Features Department of The Advocate, a daily (Tribune-owned) newspaper in Stamford, CT from 1990 until ...
