The AARP Foundation plans to offer free tax assistance to Whatcom County seniors and others for the first time in two years.
The service, beginning Monday at the First Congregational Church in Bellingham, lasts through April 13. The service focuses on seniors and people with low incomes but is available to most taxpayers, the group said in a news release.
Before the tax preparation site in Bellingham shut down in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was the foundation’s largest in Washington state. The site served more than 1,300 people annually, AARP District Coordinator Carlton Nathon said in an interview.
The program had 23 qualified tax preparers before the pandemic. The charitable organization has only 13 experts working this year, including three doing it for the first time, Nathon said.
“Our capabilities are going to be far less than 1,300 people,” he said. “In the past, we were always a walk-in service, but since we’re doing it by appointment, we have to schedule it for a given period of time. We think it’s going to work but there’s a lot more bureaucracy involved.”
Nathon said AARP Foundation officials worry some people won’t file their returns without the tax assistance program. He said some people don’t bother filing if they don’t owe the Internal Revenue Service, even if they are eligible for a refund.
“The people that we really want to get to are the senior citizens that are not computer literate, and the low-income people that don’t have their own Wi-Fi or computer,” Nathon said. “Those are the people that really suffered.”
The tax preparation service will be provided by appointment only this year because of COVID-19 protocols. People who don’t have internet access can make an appointment at First Congregational from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. To make an appointment, you must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination.
Appointments also can be made online at AARP.org/taxes by clicking on “Find an AARP Tax-Aide Location Near You.” If appointments are not available on the website, people are encouraged to try again as new appointments are scheduled throughout the tax season.
