Free First Tax Filing Pays Off
Logan Crider was a little puzzled by the multipage intake form required by the IRS. He
had never filed a tax return. With help from a RappTaxFree volunteer, however, he was
ready to meet his tax counselor.
Logan filed his first ever return on February 10, with no cost. Even better, he found he
had a substantial refund. Logan’s first job after graduation put not only his regular
paycheck into his pocket, but also led to the beginning of a nest egg.
After preparing his return, Logan’s tax counselor gave him the good news. His
withholding was much more than his tax obligation. Wisely, Logan chose to save all but
a few odd dollars of his refund for, he said, “future endeavors.”
First the Good News
Amy Compton, a single mother, was overjoyed to learn she had a large refund on her
2023 tax return. Her daughter, Tenley, came with her to the RappTaxFree site, an early,
positive exposure to how taxes work.
"Getting taxes done is always stressful," Amy says, “but RappTaxFree took all the worry and burden off my shoulders. The staff are extremely easy and pleasant to work with and I got my refund back quickly!"
The bad news is that Amy also learned that she was eligible for credits and refunds she
did not get the previous year when she had paid a well-known preparer $400 for a
simple return. She is not the only tax payer for whom RTF found errors in prior year
returns. As a new site, RTF could not do prior year returns but was able to advise Amy
on how to do an amended return. Amy will be back next year.
Be like Bess!
Bess Lucking, age 98, heard about RappTaxFree back in October and immediately
signed up to receive details when tax preparation was under way. Though she had not
been required to file in recent years, Bess thought that might not be the case for 2023
as she had unexpected income. She stayed in touch with the site coordinator who
scheduled her appointment when Bess was ready.
Arriving with a volunteer driver, she had her documentation in order. Suzanne Winter-
Rose, a RappTaxFree volunteer, guided her through the IRS and Virginia intake
questions and stayed with her through the return process with Kathryn Reinboldt, who
entered the figures. As it turned out, Bess didn’t owe any taxes and did not have to pay
for the preparation. And she was able to assure her son that she was straight with the
IRS.
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