During one of their tax training classes, Peggy McGee and Steve Wade check the entries on a client’s tax return. (Photo by Sherry Davis)
Peggy McGee
AARP will once again be offering free tax preparation for both federal and Arizona returns at La Posada on Wednesdays and Fridays, by appointment only, through April 12. The tax team has undergone mentally strenuous training and passed the IRS certification tests to be ready for the tax season. Unfortunately, there are some returns that the volunteers cannot prepare because the IRS considers them out of scope. These include rental property, solar (to include solar carryovers from previous years), EVs, and Married Filing Single returns. All returns are e-filed.
Taxes will be prepared at the Posada Life Community Center, 780 S. Park Centre Avenue. If you are waiting to receive any of your tax documents, i.e., brokerage statements, please schedule your appointment for mid-March or later. In addition to your federal return, the volunteers prepare Arizona state returns only.
Due to continuing COVID cases in the area, the drop-off method will be used again this year. For those filing joint returns, one person may drop off the paperwork, but both spouses must come to the site to sign the completed return.
At appointment time, tax clients will check in, have their documents reviewed by a tax counselor, and leave. When the return is completed, someone from the tax team will call you to come in for your signature and to it pick up, either that day or on the following Wednesday/Friday tax session. You will receive a printed copy of your return after you sign the form authorizing AARP to e-file your return(s) with the IRS and/or the Arizona Department of Revenue.
Before you come to La Posada to have your taxes prepared, you must pick up a Tax Packet and complete the Intake Sheets. Packets are available at the Green Valley Food Bank, 250 E. Continental Road. Packets are also available for pickup at the Posada Life Community Center on Wednesdays and Fridays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
To make an appointment for this free program, go to appt.link/aarp-laposada. Those without Internet access may call 520-265-1864 and leave a message. Someone will call back within 48 hours to set up an appointment time.
If you donated to an Arizona charity that is eligible for a direct credit, e.g., charities that help the working poor, public schools, or tuition support organizations, please bring the acknowledgment letter that gives the codes required to claim the credit.
When reporting for your appointment, please bring all 2023 tax-related documents, 2022 tax return (no matter where it was prepared), government-issued photo ID(s), Social Security cards or SSA-1099s for all persons on the return, and a voided check for direct deposit/debit.