JBSA Tax Centers open Feb. 1 to assist military, family members, retirees

All tax centers will be open for business Feb. 1 through April 18.

The JBSA-Lackland Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center is located in Room 41 in the basement of the 37th Training Wing headquarters, building 2484, located at 1701 Kenly Ave., across the street from the Gateway Club and adjacent to the parade field. 

Service members and their family members in the ranks of E-1 through E-4 and O-1 through O-2, can call the tax center at 671-1001 to schedule appointments for one-on-one tax return preparation. Appointments will be available for the spouse of any deployed member regardless of rank.

The tax lab will be available for walk-in self-service tax preparation on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to all eligible beneficiaries.  The program requires registration and creation of an account upon arrival.

Any unfilled appointments will be made on a space available basis starting Feb. 1.

The tax center will service E1-E4 and O1-O2 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  In order to meet the active duty requirement, retiree appointments will only be available on Thursdays.  By March, service availability for active duty members will expand to include appointments for NCOs and 0-3s by March. 

The JBSA-Randolph Tax Center, located next to the Legal Assistance Center in building 202, is open Tuesday, 8 a.m. to noon; Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon. The center is closed on Mondays.

LaMarr Queen, JBSA-Randolph Tax Center tax program coordinator, said service members and retirees can schedule appointments, which begin Feb. 2, by coming by the center or calling 652-1040. The center will be open until April 18, the deadline to file income taxes with the Internal Revenue Service.

The tax center will have two stations, each with a volunteer, to help active-duty service members, retirees and their dependents prepare and file their taxes. People who are getting their taxes prepared must bring their tax forms, such as the W-2, and Social Security cards. For the first time this year, filers will need to bring their 1095 form, required under the Affordable Care Act, which provides information on their health insurance coverage.

Queen said service members should bring their December 2015 Leave and Earnings Statement. He also said the tax center will have 23 volunteer tax preparers who are certified in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the IRS.

By getting their taxes done at the Tax Center, Queen said active-duty service members and retirees will be able to get their taxes prepared and filed free of charge by a group of experienced and knowledgeable volunteers. He said the volunteers have between five to 20 years of experience preparing and filing taxes.

At JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, there will be two tax center locations. The first is located at 2414 Stanley Road, building 131, while the second is located the basement of the San Antonio Military Medical Center, Room L44-06.

Hours at both locations are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Active duty members, their family members and military retirees are eligible at both locations. For appointments, call 295-1040 for the Stanley Road location or 916-1040 for the SAMMC location, beginning Feb. 1.

In accordance with Internal Revenue Service regulations, the tax centers are limited to preparing simple tax returns during one-on-one consultations. The tax center is not equipped to prepare complex tax returns.  

Service members must bring all necessary documents, including last year’s tax return, a cancelled check for direct deposit, a military identification card and a Social Security card for each payer and dependent to the appointment.

Members who are married, or filing jointly, will both need to attend the appointment, unless there is a power of attorney.

Tax preparation can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours and customers are reminded to arrange for child care during the appointment. 

Finally, here are some military-specific tips that may apply to you:

1. For those deploying, it may be helpful to designate someone to represent you on a federal tax matter.  To do this, fill out and sign IRS Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, and provide it to the person you want to file your taxes.  Forms can be downloaded at http://www.irs.gov.

2. For military members serving in a combat zone, the IRS automatically extends the deadline for filing tax returns, paying taxes, filing a claim for a refund and taking other actions related to federal income tax.

3. Members may apply for a deferral of taxes owed if they can show that their ability to pay taxes was adversely affected by their military service.

4. Members who prefer to self-prepare and e-file taxes may do so at http://www.militaryonesource.com.