Tax time: AARP offers free tax services

ROSWELL, Ga - After we talked recently about the government's "Free File Program," I got an email from an AARP Foundation volunteer who said, ‘Hey, we do something similar.’ And, boy, do they.

We darted out to the East Roswell Public Library. And no sooner than the 11 a.m. free tax service opened, the seats were full. The program is called Tax-Aide, and it's a free, in-person tax prep and assistance program. It's designed for the retired and the low income, but anyone is welcome.

AARP Tax-Aide offers services statewide. (AARP Foundation)

Meeting spots like the one we visited are appointment-only, but some are first-come, first-served. Last year the AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide program served 2.5 million taxpayers. 

One of the 30,000 volunteers nationwide explained, they are there to make sure you don't miss out on tax credits and earned deductions for simpler, less complicated, returns.

“We are not actually preparers, per se, we assist them in entering their return and filing it with the IRS. It's a free service. We have them at public libraries. We have them at senior centers. We have them at some churches,” said AARP Tax-Aide Coordinator Linda Garyantes.  

This link will find a center nearest you: AARP Tax-Aide Locator.