Free tax service offered for seniors, low-income residents

Jim MacLaughlin has seen his share of senior citizens trying to make ends meet on a fixed income. Over the past two years, the Social Security cost of living adjustments have been 0 percent and 0.3 percent respectively, while inflation shot up 2.1 percent and 1.3 percent. Add in staggering increases in state, county and school taxes, and it’s easy to see why seniors are struggling to stay in their homes.

So MacLaughlin, along with nine others, volunteer to provide free tax service at the Kennett Senior Center, through a program offered by AARP. The program is

offered at 24 sites in Chester County, including the Avon Grove Library, and senior centers in Oxford, Downingtown, Phoenixville and others.

“Senior citizens are really nervous about taxes,” MacLaughlin said. “Many don’t know whether they owe or if they are getting money back, and how that will happen.

“The service, which is also available to those with low incomes, saves the average client $150 that they would normally have to pay for a commercial service.

“Even $100 is a lot of money for people who have incomes of under $20,000. I would say 90 percent of our clients have an income of $50,000 a year or less.”

In fact, the average gross income of AARP clients was $28,644 in 2013.

At the Kennett Senior Center, the volunteers will complete tax returns for 500 clients, averaging about 30 clients per day. The volunteers assist with the most basic tax returns, and will file both federal and state taxes for clients.

And it’s all done electronically, in the cloud, on a secure server, using AARP proprietary tax software. When finished, clients get paper copies of their tax returns.

“Refunds can get deposited electronically in their account, or they can elect to get a check in the mail,” Maclaughlin said. “If they owe, there is an option for direct debit from their account, or we put a voucher in an envelope, give them the addressed envelope, and they put a check in and they are done.”

The volunteers spend about an hour-and-a-half on each return. All volunteers are certified and trained in tax preparation and must pass an ethics test. Many of the volunteers, like MacLaughlin, are retired and just want to help a segment of people who need it most.

At the Kennett location, about 600 returns are processed.

For the past 13 years, the Kennett Senior Center has provided the space for the free program, which ends this year on April 13. Sessions at the Kennett location are March 17, 21, 24, 28, 31 and April 4, 7, 11 and 13. For dates and times at other locations in the county, call a nearby senior center.

“This is really a nice program” MacLaughlin said. “People come in and they know within an hour that their taxes are done.”

FRAN MAYE — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Willing to help with free tax service at the Kennett Senior Center are, from left, Steve Conary, Jim MacLachlan, Bob LaRossa, Lois, Fritsche, Ken Wall, and Jeff Randall.