The Internal Revenue Service is offering a new income tax form specifically for senior citizens, which could become popular in Iowa, as we have a greater percentage of older residents than almost every other state.
Norman Penix, a spokesman for the AARP Tax Aid Foundation, says the new 1040 SR form is identical to the traditional 1040 form, with just one exception. “The new form is really just a larger print version to make it easier to read for seniors to be able to fill out on their own,” Penix says, “however, AARP is willing to do their tax returns for them as long as they’re within our scope of work.”
The SR, or senior, form is brand new for this tax season and the tax preparer had to give it a close inspection to see if anything else had changed, besides the font size. “Not that I can see,” Penix says. “I’m looking at the 1040-SR right now on the screen and on a paper copy. Really, it’s just a larger print version.”
According to the IRS, you can use the 1040 SR form if you or your spouse were born before January 2nd, 1955. While AARP initially made a name for itself as being specifically for retired persons, Penix says they offer tax preparation help to a wide range of people, not just seniors.
“We do do taxes,” Penix says. “We do not have an age requirement for AARP nor do we have an income requirement, however, we have a scope document that limits what we can do.” Iowans can enter their ZIP code on the website — www.aarp.org/money/taxes — to find the nearest tax preparation site.