With the end of the holidays in sight, another season is on the horizon: tax season.
There are several options for completing tax returns by the April 15, 2020, deadline, one of which is free to the public and in need of volunteers.
For more than 20 years, AARP tax aide volunteers have been helping Koochiching County residents file and submit their state and federal income taxes at no charge. Mary Bartlett, local district coordinator for the organization, said volunteer tax preparers love what they do and helping others, but need to grow their team.
“We are coming to a tipping point as far as our number of preparers are compared to the number of clients we serve,” Bartlett said of the group. “These are people who do it because they love it.”
In 2019, the group completed 955 federal returns, which actually was down slightly from the year prior.
“I think more people are doing their taxes online,” Bartlett said.
Still, the need is there.
Bartlett said at 70 years old, she is one of the youngest preparers of the group.
“I’d like to see anybody who has time, to come and do the training and learn this,” she said. “It’s not as daunting as you might think. It’s an interesting way to learn about what your obligation is to the federal government and to be of service to other people.”
A tentative training date for new volunteers is the morning of Jan. 13.
“If they want to train as a tax preparer, we will set another date then... which will probably be in the following week,” Bartlett said.
There is a need for volunteers who do not prepare returns, too. The program needs people to answer the phone and do intake for clients.
“That training can be done in a couple hours,” Bartlett said. “(Volunteers) who come to our site have to pass what’s called standards of conduct, which is how we expect people to behave at our site.”
Bartlett spoke highly of the people who volunteer, and said many of them look forward to tax season to reunite as a group.
“There’s a great deal of satisfaction for people to help others and help them with integrity and in a professional way even at a volunteer site,” she said. “Our veteran (volunteers) are doing this because they love it.”
Those veterans want to see new volunteers come in and are ready to show them the ropes.
“This is a great opportunity to give back,” Bartlett said. “I want to see this program continue. Whether it grows its client base is not as important as it being available to serve people of Koochiching County.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or learning more about what is involved, can contact Bartlett at mjbartlett@midco.net.
