Last year, the 30 Moore County volunteers for the local AARP Tax-Aide program provided free counseling and federal and state tax return preparation for nearly 1,000 Moore County residents.

The volunteers prepared and filed more than 1,560 federal and state 2005 tax returns. The majority of these were filed electronically, to ensure prompt processing and rapid payment of any refunds.

More volunteers are needed this year to expand the service for 2006 tax returns.

AARP's Tax-Aide Program is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax counseling and preparation service. AARP Tax-Aide is administered through the AARP Foundation in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service.

Again this year, the program expects to increase significantly the number of taxpayers it assists in Moore County. To do this, it is seeking volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to assist with one-on-one counseling and tax return preparation.

Volunteers will receive comprehensive training. They are required to pass a competency test to become IRS certified as tax counselors.

AARP membership is not necessary to assist with Tax-Aide.

Volunteer training will be conducted during January. Volunteers who become IRS certified are asked to make a minimum commitment of 40 hours over the 10-week filing season, from Feb. 1 to April 15.

Expense reimbursement is provided for some program-related out-of-pocket expenses.

To volunteer or for more information about becoming a local AARP Tax-Aide volunteer, contact the local AARP Tax-Aide Coordinator, Bill Roberson, at 673-1452.

Information is also available on the national AARP Web site at www.aarp.org/taxaide or by calling the national AARP Tax-Aide toll-free at (888) AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669).