Tax program is ready to help

  • Published
  • By Capt. David Mitchell
  • Electronic Systems Center Staff Judge Advocate office
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  It's that time of year again -- tax season -- and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is ready to help the Hanscom community have a stress-free tax-filing experience.

Beginning Jan. 23, the tax office will prepare federal and state returns for military members, including active duty and reservists, as well as retirees, on-base civilian employees and dependents.

The Hanscom tax office is located on the first floor of the Brown Building, Building 1305, as part of the Retiree Activities Office. The tax office is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays and unexpected base closures.

Although the approximately 60 scheduled slots have already been filled, the tax office will prepare returns for walk-in clients on a first come, first served basis. Clients who arrive prior to 3 p.m. will receive service, but no further clients will be added to the waiting list after that time. No one who arrives prior to the 3 p.m. closing time will be turned away unless the office is short staffed.

The tax office has experience preparing simple and complex returns. In addition to basic federal and state returns, the tax office can prepare Federal Schedules A, B, C, D and E. The office can also process the Education Credit, Student Loan Interest Credit, Earned Income Credit, Child Care Credit and a few other items.

Clients who wish to take advantage of the base's tax preparation services should plan to bring all their W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, a copy of their 2010 returns and any other relevant tax documents. In order to expedite preparation time, clients should bring documents that contain the Social Security Numbers for all their nuclear family members.

Most returns will be filed electronically with a few notable exceptions when required.

Those who wish to take advantage of the tax preparation services are encouraged to come early in the season when the preparation time can be as little as 30 minutes. Wait times can run as long as four hours.

It is recommended that before committing to a trip to the tax office that potential customers call ahead at 781-225-1360 to find out the length of the waiting list and current wait times.