Kathy Schulman, AARP Tax-Aide Volunteer
Tax season is still months away, but the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is already busy recruiting volunteers for the 2026 tax season. AARP is the largest of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs in the nation, both IRS-supported initiatives. The program benefits low to moderate income families, primarily seniors, by providing free tax services at the local councils on aging (COA).
Frank Murphy, district coordinator for Fairhaven and surrounding towns, has been a Tax-Aide volunteer for the last 11 years. He hears the stories every year, from seniors who cannot afford to pay someone to file their taxes and yet, Murphy notes, the number of adults we can help is dependent on how many volunteers we are able to recruit, train and support. It’s difficult but we have to turn people away every year.
Volunteer tax preparers work directly with clients to prepare and file returns. Their backgrounds are varied. While some do have backgrounds in quantitative disciplines such as finance or engineering, others do not. No previous tax experience is required because volunteers receive extensive training, culminating in IRS certification. The training begins in December and runs through January. Volunteers are then paired with an experienced preparer when tax season kicks off in February.
The majority of volunteers work two half-day shifts a week with flexible scheduling available to fit a variety of needs. When asked why people commit to such an intensive volunteer program, the refrain is unanimous — because they enjoy helping people and having fun while doing it.
Those interested can learn more and apply at aarpfoundation.org/TaxaideVolunteer.
For those who are interested in receiving help from Tax-Aide, calls for appointments will be accepted starting the second week of January. Low to moderate income residents can call the local COA’s in Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion, New Bedford or Rochester. You do not need to be a town resident to make an appointment at a given COA. In fact, since spots in the larger towns fill quickly, residents may need to also call COA’s in other towns to secure a spot.
One last thing to note: Residents who’ve been told they don’t need to file taxes may want to make an appointment anyway as they may be eligible for financial relief via the Massachusetts Senior Circuit Breaker program. This program provides a refundable tax credit to help seniors, age 65 and older, to help offset rent and property taxes paid on a principal Massachusetts residence. The program was recently expanded by Governor Healey to offset rising property taxes and rents.
Won’t you volunteer to help a neighbor today?
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