WASHINGTON (CLARKSVILLENOW) — Free, in-person tax preparation services are available now for active duty members, retirees and dependents, according to Army Lt. Col. David Dulaney, the executive director of the Armed Forces Tax Council.

“It’s a wonderful program, because it’s us taking care of us,” Dulaney said about the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, services. The Armed Forces Tax Council oversees the program.

The Defense Department and the IRS are working together and providing the VITA services at military installations throughout the United States and world, he said.

Preparers Trained for Complex Tax Situations
Taxes for military members are complicated, Dulaney pointed out, noting frequent moves and deployments and the fact that tax laws change every year.

The VITA preparers receive extensive training through the Defense Department and the IRS on the situations faced in the military community, such as combat zone tax benefits, extensions to file and pay, and special rules for the earned income tax credit, he said.

“I really encourage members to go into the VITA centers within the Department of Defense, because we understand their tax situation better than what the commercial sector would,” Dulaney said.

Many of the preparers are junior uniformed personnel, he said, adding their sole focus is to help the service member.

“We want to work with taxpayers to make sure they get every deduction and every credit that they are eligible for, so we can reduce their tax liability,” he said, “because no taxpayer should have to pay more than what they owe to the government for their taxes.”

The deadline to file this year is April 17, because the traditional tax-filing deadline of April 15 falls on a Sunday and April 16 is the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia.

Military members serving outside the United States get an automatic two-month extension, giving them until June 15 to file, Dulaney explained. Taxpayers can request further extensions, up to Oct. 15, to file.

Dulaney reminds military members that those extensions pertain to filing tax paperwork, and are not extensions on paying money owed to the IRS.

Serving Those Who Serve
Active duty members are eligible for VITA, as well as retirees and their dependents and reserve component members on active duty, Dulaney said. In addition, DoD civilians overseas and some defense contractors overseas are eligible, he said.

The VITA program works closely with Military OneSource, a DoD program that provides a host of services to the military community, including free, online tax preparation software. Military OneSource lists VITA locations on its website.