Travels With The Post

Age 50+ and Fearing Tax Time? Local Groups May Be of Help

Age 50+ and Fearing Tax Time? Local Groups May Be of Help

POTTSTOWN PA – Volunteers of five local organizations are already offering annual income tax preparation assistance to low-income older adults in the TriCounty region. They plan to continue that valuable work through April 15, the AARP Foundation reports.

Age 50+ and Fearing Tax Time? Local Groups May Be of Help

A foundation program, now called Tax-Aide, got its start in 1968. Since then, in a partnership with the IRS, it has grown into the nation’s largest volunteer-based tax assistance provider. It has helped more than 80 million people, so far, with tax returns.

Nearly 28,000 volunteers assisted almost 1.7 million Tax-Aide participants during 2024 alone. In total they saved more than $1.3 billion in refunds and credits, AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh says. Of the participants, roughly 965,000 were adults age 50 or older with low incomes, who benefited from more than $593 million in savings, he adds.

You do not need to be a member of AARP to take advantage of Tax-Aide services.

What Tax-Aide Offers, and Where

The program offers a variety of assistance, depending on participants’ needs. The five local groups provide in-person services that many individuals find re-assuring. All their volunteers communicate in English. They are listed below by location, and with dates and times volunteers are available for appointments:

  • TriCounty Active Adult Center, 288 Moser Rd. Ste. 1, Pottstown PA, available by appointment Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day;
  • Boyertown Area Multi-Service Inc., 200 W. Spring St., Boyertown PA, available by appointment Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
  • Henrietta Hankin Branch Library, 215 Windgate Dr., Chester Springs PA, available by appointment Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
  • Phoenixville Senior Center, 153 Church St., Phoenixville PA, available by appointment Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m.; and
  • Encore Experiences At Harleysville, 312 Alumni Ave., Harleysville PA, available by appointment Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Tax-Aide website includes a site locator, and a chatbot for booking appointments, answering questions, or connecting users to a live assistant if necessary.

Image provided to Travels With The Post by the Internal Revenue Service