Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Tax Preparer

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The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) provides free income tax preparation to low income families. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals making under $52,000 per year. Many qualified low income tax filers do not utilize this free service for variety of reasons, and often pay hundreds of dollars for something they can get done for free. After certification training, volunteers will provide basic tax return preparation for eligible taxpayers. Volunteers will provide free, high quality service and uphold the highest of ethical standards to establish public trust.

Activity Duties and Responsibilities

* Attend new and/or refresher tax law training as needed, including training on the use of electronic filing software. (Approximately 20 hours of training is necessary to become certified.)
* Successfully pass a test on required tax law knowledge.
* Interview client regarding all income, deductions and allowable credit(s).
* Provide high-quality assistance to all taxpayers. Directly prepare taxpayer’s return based on information provided by taxpayer and answer tax related questions.
* Prepare only those tax returns for which training and certification were provided.
* Prepare tax returns using electronic filing software (wherever possible).
* Ensure no compensation of any kind is accepted for the volunteer services provided.
* Maintain confidentiality of client information.
* Ensure on-site quality review is performed on completed returns prior to being returned to customer.
* Ensure a copy of the completed return is provided to the taxpayer.

This opportunity requires training which will be held in November 2017 and January 2018. Volunteer work will begin mid-January 2018 until April 17, 2018.