Tax center now open for business

"We look forward to providing as much service to the military and retiree community as we can during tax season. We want to save them as much money as possible so they can use that money in our economy, use for personal gains or their New Year's resolutions," said YNC(SW/AW) Chris Crawford of the NAS Jax Waterfront Brig who volunteered to help out at the tax center. "We have a well-trained staff who will take the time out to make sure tax paperwork is prepared accurately. Our staff is extremely flexible. We take appointments, but will also see walk-ins as well."

The tax center has a full-time receptionist to greet customers and set up appointments and 21 full-time and part-time volunteers who have been specially trained by the Internal Revenue Service to handle most tax situations. There is also a special area set up to children to watch movies while their parents are having their taxes prepared.

NCCS Terri Green, a volunteer at the NAS Jax Tax Center, asks Lt. Tom Pickering of VP-30 and his wife, Amber some questions before working on their taxes. "We use the tax center here because it's free and they do a great job. We've been using it for about four years now and they've always done well. We have never had any issues come up about our taxes," said Pickering.

"When we first moved into these spaces, there was nothing here. We had to procure all the furniture, computers, copy machine, basically everything in here. It's been challenging, but we are up and running," said AOC(AW/SW) Keith Purcell of the NAS Jax Weapons Department, who also volunteered to help out at the center. "We had no idea what it entailed to get this center up and running. We really appreciate all the commands who helped us out."

The tax center is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is the only free tax preparation service on base. Private tax preparers charge $50-$100 or more per return and often pressure Sailors to pay high rates to get their refunds more quickly. Volunteers will e-file almost all returns, ensuring fast refunds.

Those eligible for the free tax preparation include:

All active duty service members and their dependents

All retirees and their dependents

Reservists on active duty for more than 30 days

Reservists within 30 days of demobilization

Tax center now open for business Reservists involved in pre-mobilization

Before making an appointment, customers should have:

All 2007 W-2's and 1099's

Copies of social security cards for taxpayers and dependents

Taxpayer(s) military ID cards

Bank account numbers and routing numbers

Any other tax records including copies of 2006 tax returns if available

**If you do not bring either a copy of your social security card or a previous year's tax return, we will not be able to prepare your return. You must also have this documentation for all dependents.

Couples wishing to file joint returns should come to the tax center together.

If a spouse is unavailable, the spouse preparing the return will need to bring a power of attorney that specifically covers tax filing purposes or an IRS Power of Attorney Form 2848 (available at www.irs.gov)

If you have a complex return please call ahead and make an appointment.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 542-8039.