Two Circuit Breaker training programs set for area volunteers

The Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Revenue, will conduct training for volunteers to help fill out Missouri Property Tax Credit forms.

This program, known as the Circuit Breaker, offers eligible individuals a rebate for property tax or rent paid. Eligibility criteria include having income of less than $25,000 for an individual, being 65 years of age or older, or being 100 percent disabled, and being a resident of Missouri for the entire filing year.

Although the tax credit forms are fairly simple, untrained people sometimes have difficulty filling them out properly.

Volunteers are needed to assist with this beneficial program. In the past, filers received refunds averaging around $250 each.

Beginning in late January, volunteers will be stationed at various locations throughout the area, usually in senior centers, to help seniors apply for the credits.

Two workshops will be held next month to train volunteers in the preparations of these forms.

These workshops are about two hours long. Anyone interested in volunteering for the program is invited to attend either one.

A training workshop will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at First Christian Church, 2411 Abbey Road in Cape Girardeau.

A second workshop will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at Twin Towers, at 506 F Hazel Street in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Call Ruth Dockins at the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging at 335-3331 or (800) 392-8771 to register or for more information.