Free tax help is available for local senior citizens and low-income residents at the Sweet Home Public Library.
“We do taxes for anybody who is lost,” Joan Scofield said. Volunteers can help with pensions and persons who sold stocks, but they cannot help with businesses.
Scofield and a man from Philomath, Walt Tomschin, volunteer each Tuesday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to help with taxes.
They use software provided by the Internal Revenue Service to complete tax forms then “efile” them. The program is sponsored by the IRS and the American Association of Retired Persons.
Volunteers attend training each year at Linn-Benton Community College to stay up to date on the latest tax changes.
“We’re just glad to be able to help,” Scofield said, but sometimes they can’t. “If we find that somebody’s taxes are more than we can cope with, we send them elsewhere.”
Scofield is in her fourth or fifth year helping on taxes.
She as always hated doing her own taxes, Scofield said, “but I enjoy this,” meeting people and using the computer program.
The volunteers could do eight to 10 tax returns a day, but they usually have six or seven. By the end of the tax season, the demand actually drops to about five.
The tax help will be available on Tuesdays from Feb. 5 to April 9.
Persons need to make an appointment ahead of time. They may call the Sweet Home Library at 367-5007 to make the appointment.
Persons seeking help should bring social security cards for themselves and their dependents, W-2 forms, all 1099 forms, last year’s tax forms and paperwork related to selling stocks.
Usually, they do not need to bring credit card statements, bank statements or utility receipts. The one exception is for elderly persons applying for elderly rental assistance. That program has a threshold of just more than $7,000 a year for a single person and $15,000 for a couple and is rarely tapped.
Service to shut-ins can be arranged as well by calling and providing plenty of notice.
“We would really like people to tell other people,” Scofield said. “We really do want to encourage people to do this.”
At the same time, the program needs volunteers. Scofield is the sole Sweet Home volunteer. Visitors are welcome to drop in and see what the program does. In between clients, volunteers may show visitors what they do. To volunteer, though, persons must go through the training at LBCC.
Scofield has lived in Sweet Home for 29 years. She was a typesetter with The New Era. Later she traveled overseas and spent 10 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators.