Taxes have you troubled?

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — With the potential madness of tax season beginning this week, a group of volunteers wants to ease the stress sometimes involved in handling federal and state taxes by offering free filing services through April 18.

AARP Tax-Aide will be available at the Perry Public Library branch on Wednesdays from noon-3 p.m. as well as Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. by appointment only, with services starting on Feb. 4. Go by the library to schedule your appointment.

The same services will be available at the Warner Robins Senior Center, 152 Maple St., Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. beginning Feb. 1. Visit http://tiny.cc/wraarptaxaide to schedule an appointment online.

For folks in Peach County, seek tax assistance at the Fort Valley Library on Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit the library to schedule your appointing starting Feb. 7.

Betsy Moore, District 13 coordinator for AARP Tax-Aide, said qualified volunteers will be available at the above locations to help any and all folks with wrangling their tax troubles. Also, AARP membership is not a requirement to receive the services.

“We get the whole spectrum [of people]; we don’t have age requirements,” Moore said. “Our target audience is seniors and people of low income, but because we are IRS-certified volunteers, we cannot discriminate against age, income or anything like that.”

Moore added that in preparation for the tax season and this free assistance starting soon, folks should go ahead and be preparing checklists, marking off the paperwork needed to handle their specific financial needs. Some examples she mentioned included accounts from Edward Jones, Merrill Lynch and credit union information if applicable.

“Go ahead and start listing which paperwork you have received and which paperwork you haven’t received,” Moore said.

To get the best help for your tax-filing situation, Moore said to bring paperwork regarding all of your income(s) — including wages, retirement, interest income, along with stocks and bonds. She added that stock and bond information needed to file would likely not be available until the middle of February or so.

“We can do most all taxes,” Moore said. “The biggest thing that the IRS won’t let us do is rental income, unless it’s with military people.”

She mentioned a couple of things to make note of with this season’s federal taxes compared to last season’s.

“You can no longer take the charitable donation unless you itemize,” Moore explained. “The last few years we’ve been able to take some even if you didn’t itemize. And then Georgia has started a new explosion for military retirement fees between the time they retire and age 62.”

She said a variety of volunteers are available to help at these sessions, including former accountants from Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block, among others. Also, if one of the previously mentioned dates doesn’t work with your schedule, Moore said feel free to come to another location.

“Between the three sites, I have approximately 25 to 30 volunteers,” Moore said. “We’re staffed every day in Warner Robins, but we’re limited in the other two locations. We can take people in Warner Robins from any area [of the counties]. If the dates in Perry or Fort Valley isn’t convenient, they’re welcome to make an appointment in Warner Robins.”

Moore elaborated on her experience with handling taxes, saying she has spent over a decade volunteering.

“When I retired from base, I saw an advertisement for the tax-aide program in the AARP bulletin and volunteered at that time,” Moore said. “So, this is my 11th tax season. And I had just been doing taxes for my family before then.”

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