Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Areas of smoke and haze are possible, reducing visibility at times. High 96F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Tonight
Clear skies. Areas of smoke and haze are possible, reducing visibility at times. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.
Gorge Tax-Aide is recruiting volunteer tax preparers for the upcoming AARP Foundation Tax-Aide season. Volunteers do not need to have any experience in tax, accounting or even math to assist. Non-tax preparer greeter and scheduler positions are also available.
Two information sessions are planned; the first will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25 for The Dalles/Tygh Valley area from 6-7 p.m. at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center, The Dalles, and the second on Thursday, Oct. 27 for the Hood River/White Salmon area from 1-2 p.m. at the Hood River Valley Adult Center, 2010 Sterling Place, Hood River.
Attendees will learn details and responsibilities of the program, as well as benefits of volunteering. Volunteer training will begin in January with live and Zoom sessions, as well as self-paced internet training modules, with the Tax-Aide season running from Feb. 1 through April 15.
All volunteers pass certification tests to prepare them to provide tax help and every single tax return is re-viewed by the most experienced tax preparers in the program to ensure correct returns. New volunteers will be provided additional time and training as well as personal mentors to ensure their comfort in the process. Also, volunteers receive free tax preparation for themselves, their friends and families, and reimbursement for travel expenses. Volunteers who have as few as four hours a week can make a big difference for their community, said a press release.
Sponsored by the IRS and AARP Foundation, Tax-Aide provides in-person and virtual tax assistance to anyone, free of charge, with a focus on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate income. Tax-Aide volunteers are located nationwide and are trained and IRS-certified every year to make sure they know about and understand the latest changes and additions to the tax code.
New volunteers join a close-knit group of tax volunteers who will be working and learning together to of-fer free tax preparation and filing for community members, said a press release.
“Before the pandemic, we were filing nearly 1,500 returns a year between preparation sites in Wasco, Hood River, and Klickitat counties,” said Stephen Shwiff, Tax Aide District 16 coordinator. “Since 2020, with the difficulties posed by the pandemic, we have lost more than half our volunteers and much of our in-person services. However, we have learned and adapted new ways to serve our community members and we were able to file more than 550 federal tax returns and nearly the same amount of state returns last year. Our goal this year is to build our volunteer numbers and hours of service for taxpayers in need.”
AARP reports that nationally, Tax-Aide has lost 30% of its volunteers in the past two years due to the pandemic, and its ability to help those in need has been affected.
AARP Tax-Aide provides free, IRS-certified tax preparation, filing and informational services for community members in need in the Gorge area. Many low income and elderly individuals and families are missing tax credits due to the cost of tax services of potentially thousands of dollars a year: Child Tax Credit, Education Credit. Earned Income Credit and many other credits are lost every year as well as too great an amount of withholding kept by the IRS each year.
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