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Tax center to open on 'The Rock'

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The U.S. Army Tax Team is extending its services to servicemembers stationed on 'The Rock' Feb. 18, March 4 and March 18.

The tax team includes four preparers who will assist 386th Air Expeditionary Wing customers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a walk-in basis at the Flex Recreation Center.

This is the second year the tax team has assisted base members with their taxes, expanding their services from one day to three this year.

"We have a good working relationship with the Air Force attorneys at "The Rock" and at the [host nation] embassy," said Mary Kay Marlowe, Area Support Group Client Services chief. "The Air Force attorneys have helped us out by providing legal assistance to Soldiers stationed at [the adjoining logistics support area], so providing tax assistance is our way of saying thank you."

As with any military tax office, the Army Tax Team operates under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provided by the Internal Revenue Service in conjunction with the Armed Forces Tax Council.

Those interested in meeting with the tax team, must bring the following items:

- Military identification
- All tax and income documents (W2s, 1099s, etc.)
- Bank routing and account information for direct deposit for refunds
- For those with a spouse or children (date of birth and social security numbers for each person)
- If paying alimony, the social security number of the ex-spouse

For married members filing jointly, there are several filing options, according to Ms. Marlowe. The stateside spouse can file in the United States and write "deployed" across the top of the return. The stateside spouse can provide the servicemember with a power of attorney and the IRS POA (Form 2848) can be pulled up online and does not require a notary. The tax team will need the original signed POA and not the scanned version. Finally, a printed tax return can be mailed to the stateside spouse to sign and can then be filed with the IRS.

Ms. Marlowe added that servicemembers have up to 180 days from the time they leave the combat zone to file their taxes; however, the tax team is happy to help those individuals who may want to file now and access any return they may be owed.

Customer assistance times vary for each customer, but members should expect their session to take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

To access the IRS POA Form 2848, visit http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2848.pdf.

For more information, call the 386th AEW Legal office at DSN 442-3170.