Fewer volunteers have led to slashed hours and the closing of programs that offer free tax return preparations for low-income, elderly, and disabled persons. Getting people to volunteer to take the tax-preparation courses and spend hours filling out tax documentation for others is no easy task.

Mary Lou Bradley, coordinator for AARP Foundation Tax-Aide inHarrison, was quoted in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, saying that, “It’s really getting hard to recruit people.”

The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program, the largest free, volunteer-based tax return program in the U.S., helps people earning $50,000 or less to file their taxes. About 68 percent of Arkansans meet the income requirement to qualify for the free tax service.