Tax Center gives clients a fair share

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Peter R.O. Danielson
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Team Offutt members recently got their share of $8,499,242 and it's all because of the Offutt Tax Center.

The tax center consisted of 56 volunteer tax preparers and 14 phone volunteers that contributed 2,761 hours to help facilitate 4,135 shares of nearly $8.5 million to its clients.

"I'm here to keep people happy," said Pam Clark, Offutt's Volunteer Income Tax Aid coordinator. "My job is to run the site, do quality review, amendments and to call the [Internal Revenue Service] to solve problems."

Volunteers began in January with a week-long training course where they learned how to deal with everything from 1040 E-Z forms to itemized deductions and more. At the end of January, they began filing the first tax returns for the patrons of the Offutt tax center.

Each person who came to the tax center was given advice and service for free. This saved the clients of the center an estimated $1,583,049 over going to a for-profit tax center elsewhere.

Staff Sgt. Deng Pour, a chaplain's aid at the 55th Wing Chapel, and his wife started their return at a local tax-preparation chain but felt they were paying for assistance that was inexperienced with military benefits. He said they were much happier once they went to the tax center.

"They really know their stuff," said Pour. "They caught some exemptions that I should have had, and they did it all for free."

"[Clark] is the champ at this," said Staff Sgt. Natasha Stahura, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the tax center. "She knows exactly what to do."

Stahura said as a client she used the experts at the tax center to not only file her return, but also to work out the issues that would delay her first-time homebuyer credit. Using Clark's professional expertise, Stahura was able to complete her return and file an amendment prior to the April 15 deadline. As a member of the tax center team Stahura said that she saw many clients who came in knowing approximately what their returns should amount to. This isn't always the case, she said.

"You always have some people who are surprised at how much they got back," Stahura said. "Usually, people are counting on these returns to help balance their budget."

The largest tax return processed through the tax center this season was more than $10,000, but Clark warns against treating that money frivolously.

"We try to stress that a large return should be invested instead of spent," Clark said. "That way, it's not just here today, gone tomorrow."

Individuals with large refunds are often referred to the Airman and Family Readiness office for investment ideas. The A&FRC refers their clients to the tax center when they have issues with tax returns.

Volunteers are no longer working at the tax center, but tax assistance can still be found by calling the Offutt Tax Center at (402) 294-3759. For information about A&FRC investment programs, call (402) 294-4329.