Who We Serve and What Tax Returns We Can Do

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is a national organization which provides in-person and remote tax preparation help to anyone, free of charge, with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 and have low to moderate income. You do not need to be a member of AARP or a senior citizen to use this service. We do not discriminate based on age, disabilities, gender, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation. 

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers are trained to help you file a variety of income tax forms and schedules.

In certain situations, however, our volunteers may be unable to provide assistance. The Volunteer Protection Act requires that our volunteers stay within the scope of tax law and policies set by the IRS and AARP Foundation.

Residency Considerations

If you were not a Maryland resident at any time during the tax year, we cannot prepare your Maryland state return. If you need a part-year resident return for another state, we can prepare returns for most (but not all) states, with assistance from volunteers in that state; this typically requires two visits. If you were a Maryland resident and earned income in another state where you were not a resident, we can prepare your Maryland return and, if needed, Delaware and Pennsylvania returns as well. Please see the chart below for other restrictions.

Here’s a guide to what our volunteers can — and can’t — do.

We CAN prepare most returns concerning:

• Wages, interest, dividends, capital gains/losses, unemployment compensation, pensions and other retirement income, Social Security Benefits.
• Self-employment income, with limits.
• Schedule K-1 that includes only interest, dividends, capital gains/losses, royalties, or foreign taxes (within limits)
• Qualified Business Income deduction.
• New qualified tips, overtime, vehicle loan interest and senior deductions.
• Itemized deductions, including noncash contributions to charity that total no more than $5,000.
• Cancellation of nonbusiness credit card debt.
• IRA contributions — deductible or not.
• Most credits, such as earned income credit, education credits, child/additional child credit and credit for other dependents, child/dependent care credit, premium tax credit, simplified method foreign tax credit and retirement savings credit.
• Estimated tax payments.
• Injured spouse allocation, depending on state.
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA).
• Amendments to filed returns.
• Certain prior year tax returns.

We CAN’T prepare returns with:

• Self-employment if there are employees, losses, expenses that exceed $50,000, depreciation,
  business use of home, 1099 filing requirements or other complicating factors.
• Hobby income or other activities not for profit
• Complicated capital gains/losses, such as futures or options.
• Complicated Schedule K-1.
• Rental income, except land-only rentals or rentals of personal residence less than 15 days.
• Royalty income with expenses if not from self-employment.
• Tax on a Child’s Investment and Other Unearned Income (Kiddie Tax).
• Farm income or expenses.
• Some investment income or itemized deductions that are not included in our training.
• Alternative Minimum Tax, Additional Medicare Tax, or Net Investment Income Tax.
• Foreign financial asset reporting requirements.
• Form 1099-DA and certain other digital asset transactions (including virtual currency).
• Solar energy credits.
• Clean vehicle credits.
• We cannot do active duty military personnel
• We cannot prepare tax returns for ministers who receive a Form W-2, nor for other members of the clergy whose returns involve issues such as parsonage or housing allowances, FICA vs. Self-Employed Contributions Act (SECA) coverage, or exemption rules. We also cannot prepare returns for retired ministers or clergy claiming a housing allowance exclusion.