Linda Akers

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Kaula Dowdy (left) of Christiansburg gets help with her income taxes from Janet Hahn, a volunteer with the AARP tax-aide program, in the Christiansburg Recreation Center.

| Mary Hardbarger

mary.hardbarger@roanoke.com, 381-1679

CHRISTIANSBURG -- As the annual ritual goes, area mailboxes have piled up with tax forms, and for many, including senior citizens, the process can be an overwhelming one.

Area volunteers are helping to ease that burden this tax season at the Christiansburg Recreation Center.

Since Feb. 1, IRS-trained tax volunteers have assisted seniors and others with personal tax returns as part of the AARP Tax Aide Counseling Program. The service is free and is open to anyone through April 13.

Pat Ballard is a local coordinator for the program who has seen hundreds of people pass through the center's doors seeking assistance.

So far this year, 400 clients have been helped with their returns. Last year, volunteers processed 699 returns.

Before clients meet with tax counselors, on-site screeners sort through paperwork, making sure clients have the correct documents.

Sometimes a screener will find that a client doesn't even need to file a tax return, Ballard said.

Ballard said working through the process is probably the biggest concern for seniors who want to prepare their tax returns independently.

"It's overwhelming getting so many forms and important documents," she said. "Many just throw them in a box and set it aside. They don't want to deal with it."

Ballard said she's seen seniors come to the center who hadn't filed in years because they thought they shouldn't have to because of their age.

"There is no age at which you cannot file taxes," Ballard said. "It's very important."

Linda Akers, 66, is a client facilitator with the program and admits she doesn't like to fill out tax forms either.

"I just don't have enough confidence to do it," she said. "I don't even look at it."

But she said she did have confidence in the volunteers.

"They work so well together," she said. "It really is a great system."

Ballard agreed.

"People will feel comfortable here," she said. "I mean, there's nothing in it for us but to help others."

She said all volunteers must pass a test to assist clients, and therefore, people should feel confident in their abilities.

In 2008, Ballard said she saw an increased number of people flock to the center for help after receiving federal economic stimulus payments.

Some people she assisted had never filed before, but they had to do so in order to receive the extra cash.

This year, she said, it's important for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries to report the one-time payment of $250 they received in 2009.

Ballard also recommends that clients include their real estate taxes -- taxes that often go unreported -- in order to increase their deductions.

Taxes at the center are filed electronically, and within 24 hours, the tax volunteers are notified whether the returns are accepted. If they are rejected, volunteers will work until they find out what the problem is, Ballard said.

Ballard said she encourages those who enjoy doing their own taxes to continue to do so.

"It keeps your mind sharp," she said.

"But if you have doubts and need a second pair of eyes to double-check your work, we'll help you walk your way through it."