Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan | (From left) U.S. Army Cpl. Samantha Williams, a paralegal, Aracely Lopez and Evelyn...... read more read more
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Four legal experts from the North Carolina National Guard’s Judge Advocate Office made tax time a lot easier for service members, retirees and their families at NCNG Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, N.C.
Beginning in January and continuing through early April the team is part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program processing the required state and federal tax returns for free for their clients.
The team, U.S. Army Cpl, Samantha Williams, a paralegal, Evelyn Saxton and Aracely Lopez, both lawyers, and U.S. Army Capt. Katie Reynolds, the site coordinator, prepared early for tax season by studying the changes in tax law and filing requirements and honed their skills before they completed online certification classes and tests provided by the IRA for VITA preparers.
“It is a tribute to the team that they knew and remembered so much from last year,” Reynolds said.
The hard work, preparation and their reputation from four years of previous VITA service made for a busy schedule.
“We had another record breaking return season beating our record set last year by ten percent,” said Reynolds.
For four months on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. two of the VITA team members met with clients at the JFHQ courtroom. The team also set up offices at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base in Charlotte over one drill weekend.
Piles of tax forms, receipts, tax documents were scrutinized by the experts. Deductions, rules and regulations are scoured for every advantage.
“When we do their (service members) taxes it saves money and is more accurate, not everyone knows what military can claim,” Williams said.
The four months of hard work resulted in more than 550 returns prepared and filed with an average federal refund of $1,438 and state refund of $414.
The NCNG has hosted a VITA for several years during tax season helping many families and individuals across the state.
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2019 13:03 |
| Story ID: | 321243 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 108 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NC Guard Judge Advocate Tax Prep Service Helps Military Families, by SFC Robert Jordan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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