AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program seeks new volunteers

The following is a communication from the AARP Foundation:

(Sept. 22, 2023) During the February through April tax season, many Ocean Pines residents take advantage of the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program.  

This free tax preparation service is available to most everyone but focuses on seniors and those with lower incomes.*  Locally there are TaxAide sites at the Ocean Pines Library, the MAC Center in Salisbury, the Ocean City Senior Center, and the Pocomoke Library.  This coming year the program is planning to add a fifth site at the Berlin Library. 

Making this program work are about 15 local volunteers who train in the late fall and prepare several hundred returns during the winter. 

The program is in need of more volunteers as each year they encounter more requests for their service than they can handle. 

Volunteers don’t need to have experience doing taxes; the program provides extensive training. Volunteers come from all backgrounds; those who have worked in finance, accounting, and human relations work are particularly well suited for this program. Volunteers also need to possess good computer skills. 

This program requires serious commitment and is not for everybody.  

What is required is: 
 

• Training classes during November – January involve about four hours of class work per week on a flexible schedule. AARP provides each volunteer with a Chromebook and pays for mileage. 
• Additional home study and test preparation during November-January that can involve several hours per week. 
• February – mid April volunteers should be able to commit to at least one full day per week doing taxes with other volunteers at one of sites mentioned above. Missing a few weeks for a vacation is perfectly OK, particularly if you chip in a second day during some of the other weeks. 
• After April 15 the work is done, and there is plenty of time for spring and summer activities.  

If this volunteer opportunity is of interest to you, you can get more information by contacting Maria at 443-373-2667/ [email protected] or you can go online to AARP.org/taxaide. 

*Note: The AARP Tax-Aide Program focuses on helping seniors and those with lower incomes, but the program is available to most taxpayers. The program can handle retirement income (1099R), regular income (W2), and basic interest, dividend, unemployment, and capital gain income.  Those who make over six figures or have rental income/depreciation or multiple brokerage statements, or special tax situations may be better suited by a paid preparer.