Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston –
The Military Tax Assistance Center at Joint Base San
Antonio-Fort Sam Houston wrapped up the tax season with leaders thanking
military and civilian volunteers for their time and contributions to the center
during a ceremony Tuesday at building 131.
The Military Tax Assistance Center had two locations staffed
with 20 volunteers that consisted of 17 Soldiers, two Sailors, one Airmen, in
addition to two part-time volunteers. One center was located at Fort Sam
Houston in building 131 on Stanley Road and the other at Brooke Army Medical
Center. The two locations served all active duty military members, military
retirees and their dependents
The MTAC staffs helped prepare 4,587 federal and state tax
returns, assisted taxpayers in securing $7,159,855 in refunds and saved people
$1,211,372 in tax preparation services.
“It was a challenging
year and this group exceeded my expectations,” said Brian J. Novak, 502nd Force
Support Group MTAC director. “They quickly came together as a team and operated
like they had been doing this for a much longer period of time. This program
has always been about service members helping each other and they were true
professionals.”
Preparers at the tax center train and test for 10 days in
order to certify under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Only
certified VITA tax-preparer volunteers may assist taxpayers prepare and e-file
their taxes according to the VITA Web site.
Annual certification is required even if a volunteer is a
tax professional and returns prepared by VITA volunteers are considered
self-prepared by the taxpayer for Internal Revenue Service purposes.
“All the volunteers did an excellent job and I thank them
for the role they played in the lives of American taxpayers,” said JoAnn Tamez,
senior tax consultant for the Internal Revenue Service. “I hope you found the
assignment rewarding and will volunteer again next year.”
Volunteers at the combined locations helped process 199 Gold
Star and casualty-related returns, 121 students, 65 deployment-related returns,
133 returns for wounded warriors and 520 returns for those with a disabled
family member.
“It was a treat to do this,” said Sgt. 1st Class Chris
Jenkins, Company C, 187th Medical Battalion, MTAC NCO in charge, who also
received the Army Commendation Medal during the closing ceremony. “I just came
from a very rewarding assignment as a platoon sergeant and this ranked right up
there as one of the best jobs I ever had.”
During the ceremony, volunteers received various awards for
their efforts in making the center a success.