Starting Feb. 1, AARP Foundation will again provide free tax preparation and electronic filing at sites throughout the state. AARP Tax-Aide is totally free, and you don’t need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use this free service.
2014 tax returns reflect a change as the result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And for those who did not have medical insurance coverage the entire year or who purchased insurance through the Washington State Health Plan Exchange, there will be some new tax forms to deal with when filing 2014 tax returns. AARP Tax-Aide will have tax counselors who are trained to help tackle your ACA tax return questions.
Whether you are a working or retired individual, AARP’s IRS tax-certified volunteer preparers can handle your tax returns. In addition to earned and retirement income reporting, we can help you with your investment income (interests, dividends, and capital gains for Schedule D), Schedule C for individuals with small businesses that have less than $10,000 in annual expenses, and various education, child and earned income credits.
Taxpayers utilizing the free service can receive their tax refunds rather quickly, as all AARP Tax-Aide sites will be using electronic filing.
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in its 46th year and offered in conjunction with the IRS, is the nation’s largest free tax-assistance and preparation service, giving special attention to those 60 and older. Since 1968, AARP Foundation’s volunteer-based Tax-Aide program has helped nearly 50 million low to moderate income taxpayers. The program has over 35,000 volunteers and 6,000 sites across the country. In Washington alone last year, more than 1,000 Tax-Aide volunteers helped about 78,000 taxpayers get more than $52 million in refunds.
For more information and to locate an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide site near you, visit www.aarp.org/findtaxhelp or call 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669).

Janet Lam-Rogers wrote this article. She is an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteer.