AARP Offers Free Tax Help for Seniors — Here’s What To Know

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Income taxes don’t end just because you’ve reached your senior years. In some cases, federal tax returns for seniors are complicated enough to require the help of a tax professional. If you fall into that category but can’t afford to hire a pro, one option is to enlist free help from the AARP.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides tax assistance to anyone free of charge, according to an announcement on the organization’s website. Tax-Aide’s focus is on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate incomes. You don’t need to be an AARP member to use the service, which has been around since 1968. During that time the AARP estimates that about 80 million taxpayers have received help.

If you’re interested, here are some things to know:

• Tax-Aide volunteers are IRS-certified every year, so they’re up on the latest changes and additions to the tax code. You can choose to have an IRS-certified volunteer prepare your taxes or have them provide coaching so you can prepare them yourself.  
• Volunteers take appointments at more than 3,600 locations around the country and can be found in libraries, malls, banks and community centers in all 50 states. To find a location near you, use this AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Service Locator Tool. 
• To find out which documents you’ll need to bring to your appointment, visit this site.
• If you have questions, visit the Online Tax Assistance site. You can also sign up for SMS text alerts from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide.

Another free option is the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance/Tax Counseling for the Elderly. Under this program, you can find local organizations with IRS-certified volunteers that provide free tax help for eligible taxpayers.

Whether you’ll need to file federal taxes depends on the type of income you have, and how much. According to Intuit TurboTax, if Social Security is your only income source then you typically don’t have to file a federal income tax return.

Here are a couple of cases when you might have to file a federal return, according to Intuit TurboTax:

• If you are at least 65, unmarried and receive $16,550 or more in nonexempt income in addition to your Social Security benefits.
• If you are 65, married, file a joint return with a spouse who’s also 65 or older and have nonexempt income of $32,300 or more (or $30,750 if your spouse is under 65 years old).

As previously reported by GOBankingRates, roughly 40% of Social Security beneficiaries must pay federal income taxes on their benefits. You’ll also need to pay income taxes on any tax-deferred investments — including IRAs, 401(k) plans and tax-deferred annuities — in the year you take the money.

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