Volunteers ready as tax season nears end

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman James Schenck
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The final day to file your tax return is right around the corner, but not to worry -- the Dyess Tax Center is hard at work, preparing hundreds of tax returns each week.

The annual filing deadline is April 15; however, this year that date falls on a Saturday, so it is automatically extended to April 17.

The tax center is in such an unassuming building it is hard to believe that they return almost $4 million to active-duty, Reserve and retired military members, as well as Department of Defense civilians each year.

The service they provide is not just for Team Dyess’ but people serving in or are retired from any branch of service are also eligible.

The tax center has two full-time employees, but relies on volunteers from around base to keep the operation going, said Mr. Timothy Pleimann, Dyess Tax Center manager and retired Air Force servicemember.

Technical Sgt. Billy Shearer, 7th Bomb Wing judge advocate, is the other full-time tax center manager that puts in long hours to get people’s returns filed.

But it’s not just a bunch of amateurs filling in numbers there.

Mr. Pleimann said proudly that the Dyess office has had the lowest error rate in Air Combat Command for at least 14 years; a reputation that has people driving from as far away as Houston to utilize the service.

Part of the reason the error rate is so low is that Pleimann and his team are trained by the Internal Revenue Service, and the quality of training the volunteers receive is better than what is required by big-name tax preparers.

The volunteers and Mr. Pleimann, who reviews each return before it gets sent out, are knowledgeable in specific taxes and rules for military members.

As an added benefit, they are capable of filing state taxes from every state, “something you won’t find downtown,” he said.

“We do nearly every kind of tax return except major business filings,” he said. Home-based businesses, such as those which provide child care and property for rent, are eligible.

As of March 24, Mr. Pleimann said that the Dyess office has returned more than $2,178,000 in tax refunds to its customers and that he expects that number to rise significantly as the end of tax season nears.

And Mr. Pleimann will still be available to help servicemembers through June 15.

He said the base service is extremely valuable. The center calculated that its customers saved more than $340,000 in fees alone last year.

Mr. Pleimann said depending on how complicated an individual’s case is and how prepared they are, appointments may last 15 minutes to one hour.

The muscle behind the tax center is the volunteers, said Sergeant Shearer, “We couldn’t do it without them.”

Unfortunately, he said, it is often the case that there is a shortage of volunteers helping and several people are forced to wait in line for what will be a quick appointment.

“Volunteers are what make this place run,” said Mr. Pleimann.

Mr. Pleimann encourages people to volunteer next year. He said a sign-up sheet will circulate beginning in July for people to sign up for training.