Unit tax advisors spread the wealth

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Yash Rojas
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  The 354th Fighter Wing Legal Office worked with Internal Revenue Service employees from Anchorage, Alaska, to train and certify unit tax advisors from Jan. 10 to 14 to prepare them to support the base population for the 2010 tax filing season.

Sixteen volunteers completed 40 hours of instruction in the legal office courtroom covering tax filing regulations and working on practice problems. They finished the course with a final test to meet the necessary requirements as unit tax advisors under the Eielson Tax Program. Lessons learned in the class also became useful life skills for future tax filing.

Classroom instruction taught during the week and experiences throughout tax season are something anyone can use in their life, said Cindy Bolduc, 354th Fighter Wing Judge Advocate electronic filing coordinator.

"It is not military training because it's something everyone at one time or another has to do," she added.

When it comes to filing an income tax return, practice makes perfect. Whether a UTA or not, saving money benefits everyone.

"In three years as a UTA, I can honestly say I have saved our members over $2,000 in costs by providing this free service to them," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Ledgett, 354th Medical Support Squadron diagnostic imaging NCO in charge. "It is rewarding in two aspects; One is saving them money and the second is by learning how the tax system actually works."

UTAs have been active since 1992 and were created to help Airmen and families take better advantage of the opportunities they often overlook during tax season. Ultimately, Airmen at Eielson have gradually become self-sufficient enough to file their own taxes

Anyone with a military ID card including dependent family members are eligible for assistance from a UTA. According to Eielson Tax Program statistics, last year 10 UTAs served more than 700 clients who collectively saved more than $1 million.

"The program saves the community more than a $100,000 every year," said Mrs. Bolduc. "It expedites over $1 million in refunds into this community in a timely fashion."

UTAs help streamline the process of filing taxes by taking knowledge gained in class to ensure those they help are filing accurately. The UTA program helps bring Eielson and the IRS closer to reaching the overall goal of making the public more knowledgeable about filing their own tax returns.

"I think a lot of taxpayers are missing out on things entitled to them," Mrs. Bolduc said. "The more familiar everyone becomes on how to file a proper tax return the easier it's going to be to get it right."

Airmen and families who have questions or concerns on how to file their taxes can now contact a tax advisor to accurately fill out their tax return by calling 377-4114.