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Thank you for your interest in volunteering at a VITA
site!! Your interest is appreciated, and your presence at this
website shows you have some experience with the internet and the web. Volunteering at a VITA site requires completing several
steps:
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Registration - to let us know your interest, provide contact information, indicate your preferences for
training and site assignments, and obtain training materials. The
information required is minimal, but must be current, so that VITA
and site coordinators can get in touch with you.
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Certification - this shows you are approved to
prepare tax returns through VITA. It requires a passing
grade in an open book VITA/TCE Exam and cover Tax Law
relevant to returns prepared at VITA/TCE sites. You must also
be at least 18 years old. The exam can be taken in the
classroom, or online through IRS Link and Learn. Certification
is mandatory to volunteer as a tax preparer, e-file
transmitter, site coordinator, and required even though you may be a tax professional.
(On the other hand, if you are a tax professional, the Exam does not
require any preparation!!). Certification is not required if your
are not preparing Tax returns.
Part of the certification process requires your agreement that you
will perform your duties professionally.
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Signing the Volunteer
Agreement and Statement of Conduct at the site. This is separate
from the certification, and is required for
every volunteer.
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Tax Law Training is provided to help get your
certification. The VITA program provides classroom and
self-study options using IRS prepared training
material. Best of all, the training and material are free!
Classroom attendance is optional at the IRS, but may be a requirement for some
partners. Beginner tax preparers are strongly urged to take
basic classroom training.
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TaxWise
E-File Training is provided using the
computer, and requires basic familiarity of a PC and Windows
operating system, knowledge of logging in, and using the mouse and
keyboard. Familiarity with PCs is required for training in
the use of the Tax Preparation software. It is just not
possible to learn Tax Law, use the PC and learn TaxWise in the time
available for most people. If you have used a computer tax preparation
package before, this will be straightforward.
Still interested? Find out
where to sign up as a volunteer! |
