Not Too Taxing

For Sam and Dolores Adato, seeing a tax counselor at the Wilkinson Senior Center came straight down to the bottom line.

It was free.

“I can’t see spending $150 doing something I can do for nothing,” said Sam Adato, 64, of Woodland Hills, who works part-time as a private security officer. “It’s not a complicated tax return.”

The Adatos, like many senior citizens, are past the days of confusing tax returns stemming from wages, property, dependents and other items the Internal Revenue Service insists on knowing about. A simpler life brings a simpler tax return, they say.

Still, since neither Sam nor Dolores Adato, 62, is an accountant, they feel more comfortable checking with someone trained to do tax returns.

And they have a lot of company.

Throughout Los Angeles County, volunteers at community centers, churches, shopping malls, schools, libraries and other sites will offer free tax assistance to tens of thousands of senior citizens or needy residents from now until the tax deadline on April 15, officials say.

Last year, volunteers working through the IRS-supported Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs provided free assistance to more than 41,000 low-income individuals or families, senior citizens, disabled residents and non-English speaking taxpayers in the Los Angeles area, officials said.

That’s why volunteers like those at the senior center, each trained to complete basic tax forms, come in handy.

“They might be more aware of different changes that take place year to year,” Dolores Adato said.

IRS spokeswoman Deborah Guajardo said the volunteer sites can be helpful in many ways. In addition to saving residents standard accounting fees, the service also can protect residents from scams, she said.

“There’s a lot of concern because tax preparation has become so expensive,” Guajardo said. “In some cases it’s outlandish.”

A significant push to reach more senior citizens has been sponsored largely by the American Assn. of Retired Persons, officials said.

Many senior citizens may face changing tax situations because of factors such as the sale of homes or stocks, interest from retirement accounts or other investments, pensions, or the loss of a spouse, officials said.

Robert Morris, the Los Angeles County district coordinator for AARP’s Tax-Aide program, said the group helped prepare the taxes of about 21,000 senior citizens in Los Angeles County last year. The program reached about 143,000 people throughout California and about 1.5 million nationwide, he said.

In the San Fernando Valley, there are 16 or so sites that provide free tax counseling for the elderly, he said.

“The most often forgotten item is last year’s return,” Morris said. “It’s pretty hard to do it without that.”

Stephen J. Wachtel, the Tax-Aide program’s west San Fernando Valley district coordinator, said those seeking help often have no idea what their tax obligation will be. Some owe taxes, some are eligible for refunds, and others need not file at all because their gross income falls below federal levels requiring returns, he said.

“It’s like a crapshoot,” Wachtel said. “Some people have no idea. They’re not comfortable or familiar enough with tax forms. They’re just coming and saying, ‘Help. I don’t know how to do this.’ ”

Hilda B. Estes, 70, of North Hills, whose husband died almost seven years ago, praised the service at Wilkinson Senior Center.

“He handled all the business. I had to learn,” Estes said, referring to her late husband, James “Red” Estes. “I feel good having [the volunteers] do my taxes. It’s always right.”

A smiling Mary Pichotta happily tapped her hands on a table at the end of her tax return appointment at the senior center. Not only were the 82-year-old Northridge resident’s taxes being prepared for free, but it also turned out the state owed her $95.

“Well, thank you very much,” said Pichotta, a retired nurse, to volunteer tax counselor Leo P. Donohoe.

“You came out OK,” Donohoe, himself a retired insurance business executive, replied with a grin.

The news was not so good for Victor Resnick, 77, and his wife, Lee, 73, of Canoga Park, after their session with volunteer Wayne L. Stewart, 70, who spent 13 years working for H & R Block.

The Resnicks found out they owe several hundred dollars in taxes. Still, they took the news in stride, glad that their relatively simple return was done for free.

“It’s basically cut and dried income tax, you know what I mean?” said Victor Resnick, a former printer. “It’s different when you’re retired.”