AARP Foundation Tax Aide volunteer tax preparers will provide free tax preparation assistance for seniors and low-to-moderate income households this tax season. Service delivery is being adjusted due to COVID to make tax prep safe for volunteers and the public. The traditional model of taxpayers sitting down face-to-face with a tax preparer will not be available.
Many of the previously-used free tax prep sites, including the Anchorage Senior Center, AARP State Office, Northeast Community Center, and Spenard Recreation Center are closed in 2021.
Tax prep will be by appointment only with minimal face-to-face interaction this year.
Taxpayers will fill out interview questions in advance and make appointments with an intake site. They will bring their tax documents to an intake site appointment to be scanned and saved into secure, IRS-approved software. Volunteer tax preparers will prepare the tax return from home, completing the return within one week. Taxpayers will set up a second appointment to review the tax return with a volunteer and sign the form authorizing electronic filing.
Masks will be required at all drop-off and signing appointments.
For information on how to make an appointment with an intake site, taxpayers are encouraged to call 211 or 800-478-2221 or to visit http://www.FreeTaxPrepANC.com or the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Alaska Facebook page.
When making the appointment, taxpayers will be provided a list of required tax documents to bring along with a copy of last year’s tax return. Taxpayers are required to have a photo ID as well as an original Social Security card for all persons named on the tax return.
Taxpayers who did not file 2019 returns are encouraged to complete both years, especially if they normally receive the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit. Taxpayers who did not receive an Economic Impact Payment in 2020, will be able to recover the rebate when filing their 2020 return.
