TY2025 Tax-Season is Starting - Check here for timeline -->

Start-of-Tax Season Procedures

Schedule of Important Dates TY2025

Updated Sep 19, 2025

Chromebook & Google Accounts Transition

Reminder: AARP Tax-Aide Foundation Technology Staff will begin transition of your @aarpfoundation.org Google Accounts to ty25. Full instructions below.

Here is a list of key dates with "things to do".

September:
- Volunteer Portal updates: "Volunteers" and "Sites"
  - Counselors who will not be returning for TY25 should be marked as retired or leave of absence
  - Counselors who will be returning must have an active assignment
  - Counselors who have moved should update their mailing address
  - Sites should be updated to indicate whether they will be OPEN or CLOSED this tax season
  - Potential Volunteers (PV) information will be published soon.
- SMT Annual Meeting
- Google accounts will be created during the week of 9/15–19 ONLY for returning counselors
  - Volunteer ID + ty25@aarpfoundation.org (123456789ty25@aarpfoundation.org)
  - Initial Password: TaxAide2025!
  - Potential Volunteers (PV) account information will be published soon.
- USB Writing NOT yet available
- References:
  - C11 Chromebook Accounts
  - C15 - Chromebook and Volunteer Account End of Season Backup
October: Off-season accounts purged
November: Training for district Training Coordinators (TCs)
November - December: Instructor Training
December - January: Volunteer training: Counselors; Local (Site) Coordinators; EROs (New this year)
- Local Coordinators (LCs): set up sites in TaxSlayer
- Local & Technical Coordinators set up host sites and fully load test network & Internet functionality and security; update equipment firmware as needed
February: Tax Season officially begins
April: Tax season ends

More information to follow as it develops.

New OIS2 Access Rules

Scope of the user view has changed per assignment/role

TCs, TCS now have view for split-state only
RTAs view the region

Read-only access has been added for

SCs, RCs

Prepare Tax-Aide Equipment for Start of Tax Season

Updated September 4, 2025

Proper preparation of Tax-Aide equipment helps ensure maximum availability and reliability for the entire tax season. The following instructions should help you to do these important tasks.

Chromebooks

Reference: C11 Chromebook Accounts, Logging in, Adding and Removing User Accounts

Prepare a Chromebook for use after extended storage:

Plug in the power supply to the left USB-C port (yes, it does appear to make a difference on the newer models)
Charge the Chromebook battery to a minimum of 80% and power ON (by opening the screen or pressing the keyboard Power button.
If your Chromebook does not power on, take your Chromebook out of storage mode by:
- - Simultaneously hold down both the Refresh (circle)and Power keys and power ON the Chromebook, then release the keys. The device should turn ON.
Power on your Chromebook (CB) and connect to your secure wireless network (C12 - Chromebook Connection to a Network - a Basic Guide)
if present, remove any accounts listed from the main Login screen by selecting the down caret (ν) next to the account name and clicking Remove account twice. Do this for all the accounts on the Chromebook
- Do not use any previously used accounts on Chromebooks due to security concerns
Log onto your CB with your TY2x login ID (123456789ty2x@aarpfoundation.org) and the initial password (TaxAide202x!)
Ensure the Chromebook has the most current OS updates (C14 - Updating Chromebook OS), which should be automatic.
Import your previously saved Bookmarks from a USB drive making sure to add the Maine Tax-Aide (https://sites.google.com/view/mainetaxaide/home) website to your "Incognito Window" folder list, which you can create.
Shut down your Chromebook to ensure future ChromeOS updates are downloaded when next used
Your Chromebook is now ready for use in the new tax season.
NEVER store Chromebooks or printers in vehicles, outdoor storage, portable storage units, or any location that cannot be climate-controlled or where it can be potentially stolen.

Printer - Brother HL-L2370DW

Remove all paper trays, toner & drum assembly; then clean the printer using an electronics compressed air duster can to remove paper debris.
Assemble drum & toner assembly and install into the printer (P09 Brother HL-2370DW Replacing Cartridge_Drum Procedure)
Turn the printer ON and connect it to the WiFi network (P02 Brother HL-L2370DW Network Printer Setup Guide for Chromebooks)
Update the printer firmware as needed (P08 Brother HL-2370DW Printer Firmware Update Procedure)
If installing a new toner cartridge and/or drum assembly, reset the counters for both (see Printers page, Helpful Links list) Note: Replace the drum only when you notice degraded printing (streaks, powder residue, etc., and when cleaning the drum does not improve print quality.
The printer should now be ready for use.

Network Equipment

Power up the the router and/or Hotspot as applicable
Update the firmware as needed
Test all connections at your Tax-Aide site
Store each in its original box in a similar environment as your Chromebook (see CB instructions above).

Tax-Aide Equipment - Ordering Replacements

Tax-Aide provides the following equipment for tax preparation: Chromebooks, Printers, Shredders, and Scanners.

Equipment orders for returning counselors who turned in their equipment for the CB Refresh program or central storage should be started by district technical coordinators in cooperation with their district coordinators by mid-October 2024. Please provide one (no more than two, if needed) shipping contact person for your district whenever possible. This helps speed up the replacement process.

NOTE: This is not for ordering "spare" or prospective volunteer equipment, which will be done later. Instructions are provided below.

Update the portal volunteers list within your district as soon as possible. lists with the returning lists with the returning
Please complete the IV01 Chromebook - Printer - Shredder - Scanner Order Spreadsheet as follows:
1. Provide only one or two shipping contact persons per district whenever possible(more if needed for larger or geographically dispersed districts). This helps speed up the replacement shipping process
  1. Include full name, shipping (no PO Boxes) addresses, best contact phone number and email address, and "Do Not Ship" dates for any time a volunteer plans to be away from their address (to prevent tempting porch pirates) for temporary absences
  2. Include any new printers and shredders for your sites, as needed
2. Routers, Chromebook accessories (mouse, keypad, cases, etc.), and other "non-essential" accessory items should NOT included
Share the link to, or email the completed spreadsheet to the State Technical Specialist (TCS) who will place the orders for you. If you can't find nor complete the spreadsheet, please email the list and quantity of equipment needed, along with the shipping contact information, to the State Technical Specialist (TCS) and I'll take care of it.
Once the new equipment is received and distributed to the volunteer, please send me a list of the equipment including Model, Asset Number, Date Received, and to whom it was assigned so we can update the central inventory.

District Coordinators should ensure that their Technical Coordinators are properly identified in the portal at the earliest opportunity. If you need help with any of these instructions, please let me know as soon as possible.

NOTE 2: Printer consumables are ordered using the process described on the Printers page.

Questions?

Please reach out to your district Technical Coordinator, state Technical Specialist or District coordinator with any questions or concerns.

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