Tax season rolls around again Published Jan. 14, 2008 By Melissa Barlow Spangdahlem Air Base Tax Center SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The beginning of the New Year is a time when people are busy making resolutions, recovering from a festive holiday season and gathering tax documents to prepare their tax returns. While people anxiously wait for their W-2's to post on MyPay, the Spangdahlem Tax Center is busy preparing for another tax season. The Spangdahlem Tax Center provides a free tax filing service to members of the Eifel Community. "I want to be able to provide a valuable service to the people in my squadron since we're mobile," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Montgomery, a Tax Center volunteer from the 606th Air Control Squadron. While there are several companies hoping to profit from the military community by preparing their income taxes, the tax center provide this service free of charge. Last year, the Tax Center prepared more than 2,000 returns saving customers almost $200,000 in filing fees. The Alternative Minimum Tax Patch may pose a challenge to some taxpayers this year. The "AMT Patch" was originally designed to keep the wealthy taxpayers from dodging income taxes. However, when the tax was implemented, it was not indexed for inflation. During the years, more Americans are considered to be among middle-class taxpayers and have ended up having to pay this extra tax. In mid-December 2007, Congress amended the law to adjust the income cut-off in which the AMT begins to be applied, raising the income level up to affect only those taxpayers who earn more income. However, since the law was passed late in the year, the IRS has been working as quickly as possible to update their systems to accommodate the "AMT Patch." While it will not affect everyone, some taxpayers wishing to claim certain credits may have to wait until Feb. 11 to file their taxes. Those affected by the patch should not be fooled by companies that claim they will be able to e-file taxes prior to Feb. 11. These companies offer "refund anticipation loans." They will prepare the tax forms, pay filers their projected refund, but hold onto the return until Feb. 11 and then e-file like every other preparer. The difference is that users of this service pay to receive their refund faster. A drawback of the refund anticipation loan is that if there is an error in the preparation of tax forms causing the IRS to send less than what the filer was expecting, the individual will still be held liable for the entire amount loaned by tax preparation companies. Those who are filing with the following forms must wait until Feb. 11 to file their taxes: Form 8863 Education Credits, Form 5695 Residential Energy Credits, Schedule 2 Form 1040A Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A filers, Form 8396 Mortgage Interest Credit or Form 8859 District of Columbia First-Time Home Buyer Credit. The Spangdahlem Tax Center opens Jan. 22. Walk-in hours are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon and appointments can be made Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 3 p.m. The Spangdahlem Tax Center is located in building 125, room 116. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Melissa Barlow at 452-1040 or e-mail melissa.barlow@spangdahlem.af.mil.