Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Dec. 14, 2020) — The Fort Leonard Wood Tax Center is scheduled to open Jan. 11 through April 16 to provide free tax return preparation services for active-duty service members, retirees and their dependent family members.

The tax center is located at 316 Missouri Ave., Bldg. 315, and the hours of operation are planned to be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon every other Saturday beginning Jan. 23.

While the goal is to assist as many eligible individuals as possible, there are certain types of tax returns that cannot be prepared at the tax center, to include:

— business returns requiring a full Schedule C form;

— returns with farming income;

— taxpayers filing with three or more rental properties;

— prior-year amendments (if the original return was not filed with the Fort Leonard Wood Tax Center);

— returns covering the sale of a rental home;

— large number of stock sales or stock sales without a cost basis;

— clergy or minister income;

— Missouri return only letter (if the original return was not filed with the Fort Leonard Wood Tax Center);

— other state only returns (if the original return was not filed with the Fort Leonard Wood Tax Center);

— returns for taxpayers living more than three hours from post using email-only correspondence;

— returns for taxpayers with a spouse living out of state with a power of attorney.

 

There are also new policies in place to assist in limiting the spread of COVID-19:

— Only the head of the household is allowed in the tax center;

— In-person service is limited to clients within a 100-mile radius of the post;

— Clients must bring their own copies of documents and make sure to bring all pages of their paperwork (even blank pages);

— Face coverings must be worn at all times inside the tax center;

— Clients will have to wait outside if the waiting room reaches capacity;

— Drop off and pick up service is the preferred method of tax preparation.

All clients need to bring the following documents to have their taxes filed:

— military identification;

— last year’s tax return;

— Social Security Cards for everyone named on the tax return;

— all W-2s and any proof of all other earned or unearned income;

— interest statements;

— proof of health insurance (only if through the market place);

— a voided check or bank routing and account numbers;

— a power of attorney (if necessary to complete a return with an absent spouse);

— a completed client intake form (provided by the tax center);

— any other related documents needed to justify itemized deductions.

(Editor’s note: Information for this article was submitted by the Fort Leonard Wood Tax Center. It may be subject to change based on Health Protection Condition requirements. Call 573.596.0629 for more information.)

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.

More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission