Tax filing season may be months away, but the Lincoln County Tax-Aide sites are already seeking volunteers who want to serve their community through the AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide program.
Volunteers are needed to provide tax preparation and filing services to taxpayers, but also for technology and organizational support, for recruiting volunteers, and for translation services, said Kathy Kuebbing, Oregon publicity and communications volunteer.
Information sessions will be held at the Newport 60+ Activity Center at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 and at 9 a.m. Oct. 13.
Tax-Aide focuses on serving people with low to moderate incomes, helping them file state and federal tax forms and secure any tax refunds. During the 2024 tax season nationally 27,771 volunteers at 3,600 sites helped 1.6 million taxpayers receive nearly $1.3 million in refunds.
In Lincoln County, 11 volunteers in Waldport helped 402 families and six volunteers in Lincoln City helped 149 families. There was no site in Newport because there weren’t enough volunteers.
Prior to the closure of all sites during the Covid pandemic in 2020 the Lincoln County sites helped more than 1,400 families every season. With enough help in 2026 that number could be reached again, especially if the Newport site can be reopened.
Training classes are held from November through January, with the amount of training depending on the position. The Tax-Aide sites operate from February through early April.
Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-based tax assistance and preparation program. All levels and types of experience are welcome.
For more information or details go to www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaide or contact Kuebbing at taxaideor1pcs@gmail.com.
