MADERA COUNTY – Free income tax return preparation and electronic filing, for both California state and federal returns, will be available again this year for mountain-area residents, offered by the AARP Tax-Aide program.
Tax returns are prepared onsite by specially trained and certified volunteers, and then filed electronically 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 1-7 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.
Services are offered at the community room at the Oakhurst Library, and are available on Tuesdays between Feb. 12 and Apr. 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, as last year the program was not able to accommodate everyone who called and some had to be turned away.
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 as well. Appointments may be made for these sites by calling Sarah Titus at 559-706-1868.
The Tax-Aide program has been operating locally for over 30 years, first managed by Jerry Ephraim and now by Darlene Kelly.
The Madera County Tax-Aide program has about 20 volunteers, and welcomes participation by interested persons. Anyone with an interest in taxes or in helping people with taxes is encouraged to inquire about volunteer opportunities with the program by calling Darlene Kelly at 559-760-0404.
AARP Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service, available to taxpayers with low and moderate income, with special attention to those aged 60 and older.
Over 33,000 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers, trained in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), now help over two million taxpayers file their federal, state and local tax returns each year at nearly 7,000 AARP Tax-Aide sites nationwide.
