Tax help: IRS legal issues

Published: Apr 05, 2013 1 min read

These Money heroes help retirees and members of the armed forces with their tax returns, and assist people caught up in legal problems with the IRS.

Helping the elderly find tax refunds

Donald Gore, 76, volunteer tax preparer AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program

Upon retiring as an attorney for Lockheed in 1995, Gore soon found a way to share his interest and expertise in taxation.

As part of a free AARP Foundation program funded by the IRS, he spends December through April preparing about 85 tax returns -- mostly for the elderly -- taking particular delight in unearthing prior-year refunds due new clients.

A trailblazer in the program's shift from pencil and paper to computers, he's also the technical coordinator for six AARP tax-prep sites in California's San Luis Obispo County.

"The 1040's instructions are more intimidating than the form itself. If you go down line by line, it's pretty simple."