Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Ruby Montoya of Clovis watches as tax preparer Jeff Greene of Clovis goes over her paperwork Monday afternoon at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. Greene is an AARP volunteer and has been helping in the program for the past two years. April 15 is the final day for the free tax service at the library, but tax help will still be available at Roy Walker Recreation Center and Baxter-Curren Senior Center until April 18.
With taxes due in two weeks, area volunteers continue to offer free filing assistance to members of the community.
"Come one, come all" is the volunteers' message. From high schoolers to seniors and everyone in between, "there are very few things we can't do," said Shelley Winn, a volunteer with the Tax-Aide program sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the IRS.
The Tax-Aide program held its sixth of seven public sessions Monday evening at the Clovis-Carter Public Library. Citizens lined up, pay stubs and identification in hand, and walked away with their taxes done.
Those with taxes still to be filed have several more opportunities for assistance. Through April 18, Tax Aide volunteers will see walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday-Thursday and by appointment for seniors 50 years and over 8-11:30 a.m. Monday-Thursday at the Baxter-Curren Senior Center.
There will be one final library session from 1 to 4 p.m. April 15.
Folks need only bring a picture ID, social security card and income documents - usually W2s but 1099Rs for the case of retired persons.
From the time a person is seen, they can expect their processing to take anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes.
Winn has volunteered 11 years as a local Tax-Aide preparer but said the program has served the community here for well over two decades.
She said they completed 143 tax returns at their first five library sessions this year since the end of January and approximately 1,500 so far at all three locations. In previous years, volunteers have completed close to 2,000 returns, and she expects they will come close to that mark this year.
There are no significant changes to the tax law this year, said Winn, but as for next year, it's anybody's guess.
Winn encourages all those with the year's returns still incomplete to gather their documents and see one of the Tax Aide volunteers at their earliest opportunity.
"We're at a lull right now, but it will get very busy the closer we get to April 18," she said.
