Shawna Bleecker | Capital Journal staff

PIERRE — Most people dread it.

We all have to do it.

Shawna Bleecker | Capital Journal Steve Scares Hawk, of Pierre, (left) sits back as tax preparation expert Elaine Wagner prepares his taxes at the Pierre Area Senior Citizen center on Monday. Taxes are filed electronically the evening of the day they are prepared. Advertisement

The big “T.” Taxes, that is.

This year — as in years past — the Certified Taxaide Volunteers service in Pierre is helping people prepare their taxes and is filing them electronically for free.

The service will be at the Pierre Area Senior Citizen Center from 1-4:30 p.m., Mondays-Wednesdays through April 14.

The volunteers are trained to file the most commonly-used tax forms such as 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and schedules A,B,C-EZ and D. They also can assist with dependant care deductions, earned income credits, college learning tax credits, first-time home buyers credits and more.

“On the whole, they do just about everything,” receptionist Myrna Hartmann said. “If you have any questions, Andy is really good about answering them.”

Every year in the 20-or-so years that Andy Deis has coordinated the tax service it has grown.

“You never know how many people you are going to have,” Deis said.

Last year the service helped more than 450 people file their taxes.

“We used to do them by hand and that took awhile,” Deis said.

The free tax service helps most people with their taxes except business and farm owners.

“It’s nice of them to offer help to anyone,” Janice Neuhauser, of Pierre, said.

Neuhauser was one of almost two-dozen people with IRS income-tax forms in hand and waiting to have their taxes prepared and filed electronically Monday afternoon at the Pierre Area Senior Citizens Center.

“I was skeptical the first time I came,” said Neuhauser, who has had her taxes prepared there for the past three years. “They did a really good job and they get you in and out as fast as they can.”

For Laurie Bonhorst, who has had her taxes done by the tax service for the past six years, waiting her turn isn’t a problem.

“If you weigh the waiting versus the cost, it’s not an issue for me,” she said. 

For anyone who needs help filing their taxes, the service recommends bringing all tax-related information, your social security card, last year’s tax return, new vehicle sales tax for vehicles purchased in 2009, income statements from stock brokers, social security and retirement distributions and if you plan to itemize bring all your expense records.

For more information call the Pierre Area Senior Citizens Center at 605-224-7730.