Free Tax Help for 50+ from AARP

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Yes, tax season’s upon us and if your parents or you yourself are overwhelmed by the daunting task of getting your papers in order, you can find FREE tax assistance at this handy site we found through AARP.

What do I bring?

A full checklist of what to bring to your tax meeting’s available here.

  • Previous year’s tax return(s).
  • Social Security cards and/or ITIN notices/cards or other official documentation that show the taxpayer identification numbers for everyindividual on your return.
  • Photo ID for each taxpayer.
  • Checkbook if you want to direct deposit any refund(s) or direct debit any amounts due.
  • Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) (for each individual if applicable).

What do I SHRED?

According to the IRS, keep 3 years of tax records, 7 years for real estate. More details are here.

If you’re still keeping old tax returns and receipts stuffed in a shoebox in the back of the closet, you might want to rethink that approach. Keep tax, financial and health records safe and secure whether stored on paper or kept electronically. When records are no longer needed for tax purposes, ensure the data is properly destroyed to prevent the information from being used by identity thieves.

If disposing of an old computer, tablet, mobile phone or back-up hard drive, keep in mind it includes files and personal data. Removing this information may require special disk utility software. More information is available on IRS.gov.

To safely and securely store or destroy sensitive documents, count on NAID certified SecurShred to take care of your records storage needs.