AARP recruiting volunteers for Westmoreland tax-preparation sites

Despite clearly having five letters, “taxes” is a four-letter word for a lot of people. Many would prefer to have nothing whatsoever to do with them.

That’s where Bob Schumacher of Penn Township comes in. He can’t make your taxes go away, but he hook you up with someone to help prepare them free of charge.

Schumacher is the site coordinator for the AARP’s Tax Aide program in North Huntingdon and Trafford. The program also operates locally in Murrysville, Penn Township and Delmont, and folks like Schumacher are recruiting volunteers to help out.

“I’m starting my sixth year doing this,” he said. “After I retired and my son graduated high school, I started looking around for some volunteer work.”

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-based tax preparation service, with a focus on those 50 and older, with low-to-moderate income. Volunteers can serve as tax return preparers, client facilitators and appointment schedulers.

“Things are pretty standard at all our sites around here,” Schumacher said. “Volunteers work one, or maybe two days per week. We take our first appointment at 8 a.m. and schedule the last at 11 a.m., and try to be done by noon.”

Tax preparers will receive training and IRS certification, which typically takes place in December, with prep work starting in February.

“For every tax preparer, we book one appointment per hour,” Schumacher said. “Delmont and Murrysville do five days, and we did about 120 at each of those sites last year. At North Huntingdon, we only do two days a week but we have more volunteers and we between 500 and 600 there last year.”

Volunteers can call 412-394-8959 or see AARPfoundation.org/taxaide. The program has existed since 1968, serving an estimated 75 million people.