Tax help available at senior centers
Gisel Badillo waits while AARP Tax-Aide volunteer Roger Nelson prepares her tax return in 2020. The organization is offering help again this year at the Moses Lake and Ephrata senior centers to people of all ages, but senior citizens are prioritized.
FILE PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — Taxes can be confusing at the best of times. The Moses Lake and Ephrata senior centers are teaming up with AARP to take some of the confusion out of them at no charge.
The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is supplying volunteers to assist seniors with filling out and filing their tax forms, according to Tax Aide’s Moses Lake coordinator Jeanette Entz. The volunteers undergo training in January and at the end of the training take the same test tax preparers take, Entz said.
The tax assistance is available to anybody, Entz said, although priority is given to seniors. Many high school students also avail themselves of the assistance. The volunteers are at the Moses Lake Senior Center 12-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays at the Ephrata Senior Center. Appointments are strongly encouraged, Entz said, although depending on the demand, drop-ins may be able to receive help at the Moses Lake location. Ephrata is by appointment only, according to the appointment line.
Tax Aide helps with the sort of tax forms most people are likely to need, Entz said, with a few exceptions.
“We don't do farms, we don't do rentals and we don't do businesses, other than just small businesses where they don't have employees and they don't have inventory,” she said. “We do sale of stocks and that sort of thing.”
Participants should bring all their income paperwork, including W-2 forms and 1099-R forms, Entz said, as well as their Social Security number or card and a photo ID.
“We can use the Social Security statement for seniors who are on Social Security, because that's a legal document,” she said. “We can use a letter from Social Security Department for people who don't have Social Security numbers but have an I-10 number.”
The volunteers take the information provided by taxpayers and enter it into a computer, Entz said. They can then file directly online with the IRS, saving several steps compared to the old pen-and-paper method. In cases where questions may arise, she said, the volunteers can also print out the forms for the patron to take with them.
People taking advantage of the service in Moses Lake should use the entrance to the Birch Room, said Moses Lake Senior Center Office Manager Corie Otto. The entrance is marked with red flags when the tax preparers are in, she said.
Tax Aide has been offering this assistance for more than 50 years, Entz said. This year they’ve helped about 280 people, although in pre-COVID-19 years the count was closer to 500.
Appointments can be made by leaving a message at 509-761-9147.
Joel Martin may be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.
Correction: Corie Otto is the office manager at the Moses Lake Senior Center. This change has been incorporated above.
Need a hand?
Call 509-761-9147 to make an appointment.
Moses Lake Senior Center
608 E. Third Ave.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-4 p.m.
Ephrata Senior Center
124 C St. NW
Mondays 9 a.m.-2 p.m.