An airman fills out tax forms in February 2017. (Daniel Brosam/U.S. Air Force)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A volunteer-run tax center that has prepared hundreds of returns each year for the military community in western Tokyo will not reopen for the coming filing season as the base shifts resources to other mission priorities.
The Yokota Tax Center has provided free, in-person assistance with federal and state returns for more than two decades.
“After careful review, we determined that operating the center would require resources needed to support mission priorities,” 374th Airlift Wing spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Alexzandra Gracey said by email Sept. 18.
The center was staffed by volunteers, and its operating costs were minimal, volunteer Jeanette DiDuca said by phone Monday.
“The main thing it needs is some office space,” she said.
In 2024, 40 volunteers handled 490 appointments and prepared returns for 364 people during the four-month tax season, according to information the wing posted online that June.
Their work helped clients obtain nearly $680,000 in federal refunds and more than $147,000 in state refunds while saving them an estimated $66,884 in tax-preparation fees, the wing said.
The center also served as a training ground for volunteers and a source of assistance for younger service members who may never have prepared their own returns, DiDuca said.
For military spouses, volunteering provided work experience that can be difficult to obtain while stationed overseas, she added.
“Living overseas, this is something I can put on my resume with actual numbers such as how many returns I prepared,” DiDuca said.
The loss of in-person assistance may be particularly difficult for elderly retirees and surviving spouses, said Arthur Picotte, a 96-year-old retired airman and veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars.
“We have widows who are in their 70s who can’t do their own taxes,” he said in an interview Friday. “They can’t handle that.”
Paid in-person U.S. tax preparation is available at H&R Block Japan offices at Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa prefecture and Shimbashi in Tokyo.
Online self-filing through H&R Block’s expat service starts at $124 and filing with a tax adviser starts at $259.
Yokosuka is about two hours away from Yokota by car and roughly three hours by train, while reaching Shimbashi can take an hour or more.
Gracey said eligible members of the Yokota community will still have access to free assistance through other programs.
For example, Military OneSource MilTax provides free tax-preparation software and consultations for service members, eligible family members and survivors, as well as veterans within 365 days of separation or retirement, she said.
