The Combat Center’s Tax Center opened its doors at Building 1428 Wednesday for this year’s tax season. This center provides free tax preparation services for all retired and active duty service members and their dependents, as well as any reserve service members on orders for more than 30 days.

The center is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until May 15 and is staffed by Marines certified in beginner, intermediate, advanced, and military-level filings. These Marines have undergone two weeks of formal training followed by another four weeks of individual training to understand the intricacies of filing both federal and state taxes before earning their certification from the IRS.

The Tax Center provides easy on-base access with professional help, free of charge, and is done by people who understand the complications and financial challenges associated with military life.

This program beats competing offers from other services, such as free online programs or commercial centers in town, in both quality and price. Commercial tax centers provide tax professionals, but charge hundreds of dollars for their services and online programs are only free for basic level filings, but anything much more complicated would require a purchase.

Patrons are accepted on a walk-in basis and must bring their W-2s, Military I.D., social security cards for themselves and their dependents  as well as their state and federal returns from the previous year.