When John Meyer owned a transportation business, he routinely spent $300 to $500 to have his taxes professionally prepared.
Without the business, he doesn't have such detailed forms and decided to look for a free tax-preparation service. This year, he found one around the corner from his house: at the Aurora Gonzalez Community & Family Resource Center, 1949 Broadway in south Toledo.
"I thought about doing Turbo Tax, but I'm not computer literate, so I figured I might have to bite the bullet and pay again to have my taxes done," said Mr. Meyer. "But I'm glad I found this place. This makes me happy."
He is one of thousands of taxpayers who will have their federal-tax returns done for free this year by volunteers in family service centers, libraries, senior citizen centers, churches, credit unions, and other sites. There are about 45 such centers across northwestern Ohio, sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and the American Association of Retired Persons.
Tax returns also are prepared for free at the IRS offices in downtown Toledo and Lima for those filers with incomes under $33,600. If the IRS staff is too busy for the walk-in business, AARP volunteers are also on hand to help with returns.
The IRS listed no free sites in southeastern Michigan, but there are some non-affiliated centers.
The free tax-preparation sites are aimed at low and moderate-income taxpayers, the elderly, and handicapped people. Although the IRS-sponsored sites set an adjusted gross income limit of $35,000, the AARP sites can take applicants with incomes higher if the returns aren't complex.
At the Aurora Gonzalez center, the income limits aren't as important as getting people in the door, said Araceli Guerrero, the center's youth services coordinator who is in charge of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
"We really don't turn anyone away," she said. She has no busi
ness background, but after an intensive three-day IRS course is comfortable using computer software to prepare returns.
The volunteers have prepared 135 returns and expect to do as many as 400 by the April 15 deadline, said Cyndy Meacham, executive director of the center.
On average, clients are getting refunds of about $2,000.
Yvonne Ramos, a single mother with a 3-year-old daughter, said she used to pay about $200 to get her taxes done, although her return was not complicated and she did not itemize her deductions.
This year, she turned to the volunteer tax preparers at Aurora Gonzalez and was pleased at how simple the process turned out to be."I handed them all of my information, and a little while later they said, 'We need you to sign this,'●" Ms. Ramos said.
She plans to use her refund for a trip for herself in late April to Las Vegas and another trip for her daughter."I promised her I'd take her to Chuck E Cheese's, so she keeps asking if I got my money yet," Ms. Ramos said.
This is the first year the Aurora Gonzalez center has offered free tax service, and the center is one of only two sites in the state that give clients the option of having their taxes filed in Spanish or English, said Ms. Meacham.
About half the visitors to the local center ask for help in Spanish.
"The news is getting out by word of mouth. We had someone come up from North Baltimore because a relative had a return done here and they wanted theirs done in Spanish," she said.
Ms. Meacham said she quickly became committed to the idea of offering free tax services because it is a way to get people into the center and then be able to help them with other concerns, such as budgets, opening bank accounts, and perhaps even getting them into a home ownership program.
First Published March 2, 2004, 12:58 p.m.
