b'JANUARY 2021 Participants attend their tax appointments in the outdoor canopy stations. Los participantes asisten a sus citas de impuestos en las estaciones de Puente al aire libre.Tax Time, Pandemic-Style Puentes IRS certified Tax season this year came with a new challenge: howstaff completed to process tax returns in the middle of a pandemic. Puente staff moved the entire operation outdoors,162 with canopies and mini kiosks where participants couldtax returns.sit down with a Puente IRS certified tax preparer outdoors, fully masked, and be done in about an hour.Participants could e-file their taxes in real time and walk away with a complete tax return. Best of all, they would know right away whether they were getting a refund, and for how much.We wanted to make it a one-stop shop where we would put everything in the system and work in the hour that the participant was there, says Puente Community Development Specialist, Laura Rodriguez.Puentes tax services and support also included an important financial literacy component. Every participating household received a bin to help organize their essential documents, an envelope container for setting aside a cash budget for specific expenses, and a piggy bank to encourage children to save.16'