Lackland Air Force Base, Texas –
Although April 17 was widely publicized as the national deadline for tax filing in 2007, if you're in the military there's a good chance you may have missed that deadline for numerous reasons.
Deployments in combat zones qualify military members for tax filing extensions. Also, confusion about military entitlements and special pay may keep others from sending in their tax documents until further clarification.
No matter what the circumstance, right around this time the numerous tax centers that seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere during the tax season will begin to disappear again, and delinquent tax filers may find themselves searching for a venue that provides year-round tax preparation service.
The Airman Family and Readiness Flight on Lackland has qualified tax preparers ready to assist military members in filing their taxes. It's year-round, and even better, free.
"All we ask is that they give us a call before coming in," said Jerry Jackson, at the AFRF. "We have two people here, myself and Monty Marsolf, who are qualified to help prepare taxes for technical school students and those coming back from deployments."
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Marsolf cover an extensive range of tax filing preparation, from the information-light 1040EZ to the 1040A and itemizing for those owning a home.
Tax filers need to ensure they bring all their necessary tax documents, such as their W-2s. various 1099s and extraneous income information.
"It's a good idea for people to check out the Internal Revenue Service's Web page before coming in," said Mr. Jackson. "That way they know a little before coming in about what credits are new, and what might be available for them. A good example is the phone tax credit offered this year."
The AFRF-provided tax preparation service is not only open to delinquent tax filers for this year, but prior years as well.
"Filers have three years to file their taxes for prior years, as long as they are owed a refund," said Mr. Jackson. "If you owe for this year or any prior years, you will incur fees, interest and penalties from the IRS. We can find out for you here if you will or will not owe, in case folks just want to come in and see where they are, without having to file.
"If any filers want to come in to review prior year returns done by any other institutions, we'll do that as well," he continued.
The AFRF, located in Bldg. 1249, is open five days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To make an appointment or to speak with a Lackland tax preparer, call 671-3722.