Drive-thru tax help for seniors

Treva Warrick works with Melvin Taylor to complete his taxes during a drive-thru tax-help session last week at The Center in Gainesville. Warrick said she has worked in tax counseling for the elderly, a program that provides free tax assistance for seniors in the area, for the last 28 years. The service is usually provided inside The Center in Gainesville. “It’s one of my favorite programs to help our seniors,” Warrick said. Before the  shut-down for the COVID-19 pandemic, she was booked solid with appointments scheduled every Tuesday through April 15. But because of the shutdown, she said, “we are not allowed to have customers inside the building, so our tax program had to halt.” After she realized she would not be able to meet with the clients in The Center’s office, she called each of them and offered to have them drop off their income tax papers with her in The Center’s driveway or wait until The Center reopens to get help with their taxes. Warrick said last week she had already filed 250 income tax returns for seniors in the area through the program, “and we have many more to file!” she said. “We love helping our seniors get refunds!” Warrick said she is not able to do farm returns or business returns, but she does help with property tax and rent rebates. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal and state income-tax filing deadline has been extended to July 15. For more information call Warrick at 417-840-2573. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423