The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program is an
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
(IRS) initiative in the United States that supports free
tax preparation service for the underserved through various partner organizations.
VITA service helps low- to moderate-income individuals, persons with
disabilities
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
, the elderly, and limited English speakers file their taxes each year. IRS awards matching funds to partner organizations throughout the country. The IRS awarded $18 million in grants for FY2019.
Description
VITA was founded in 1971 by Gary Iskowitz at
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
.
Since the 1970s the program has grown to several thousand sites nationwide, partnering with non-profit organizations, local municipalities, and colleges and universities. In Tax Year 2015, 3.7 million VITA tax returns were filed with a 94% accuracy rate. VITA provides service to taxpayers making less than $56,000 per year.
Volunteers
VITA volunteers include greeters, intake specialists, and tax preparers. All volunteers must pass a
code of conduct exam and an intake interview/quality review exam.
The VITA tax returns are prepared by IRS tax law certified volunteers. The volunteers are taught how to use
tax software
Tax compliance software is software that assists tax compliance, and may cover income tax, corporate tax, VAT, service tax, customs, sales tax, use tax, or other taxes its users may be required to pay. The software automatically calculates a ...
and specific tax law each year. They must pass a tax law exam to receive basic or advanced certification. The passing score is 80%. Certificates expire at the end of the tax year and must be renewed.
VITA has other optional certifications. These include certificates for
Health Savings Accounts
A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal inco ...
(HSA), Military personnel, International tax issues, Foreign Student returns, and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
returns. Some military bases participate in VITA with IRS agents training service members to complete military tax returns. Foreign students' returns are prepared at major public universities such as
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
by more advanced experts.
The complication of applying tax codes and the risk of being taken advantage of by paid tax preparation services is diminished with the presence of over 4,000 nation-wide VITA sites. One of the focal points of VITA is raising taxpayer awareness and receipt of the
Earned Income Tax Credit
The United States federal earned income tax credit or earned income credit (EITC or EIC) is a refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, particularly those with children. The amount of EITC benefit depends ...
(EITC) and
Child Tax Credit
A child tax credit (CTC) is a tax credit for parents with dependent children given by various countries. The credit is often linked to the number of dependent children a taxpayer has and sometimes the taxpayer's income level. For example, in t ...
(CTC). These two credits have a long history of poverty alleviation within the US, they originated during the 1970s
War on Poverty
The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...
in the
Tax Reduction Act of 1975
The United States Tax Reduction Act of 1975 provided a 10-percent rebate on 1974 tax liability ($200 cap). It created a temporary $30 general tax credit for each taxpayer and dependent.
The investment tax credit was temporarily increased to 10 ...
.
As of 2017, the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act contributed to the over complication of tax filing. The statistics researched by the non-profit
Prosperity Now
Prosperity Now, formerly known as the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), is a national nonprofit based in Washington, DC, dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for low-income families and communities in the United States. CFED ...
proves VITA to be a relevant necessity in poverty reduction. Today, tax preparation remains a highly unregulated industry and around 60% of all taxpayers turn to a paid preparation service. The longevity of the VITA program is dependent on funding being approved and provided by Congress. The last official act to support the IRS initiative was made in 2017. Th
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act of 2017that ensured low-income workers and under-served communities would gain assistance from VITA. Specifically, the bill “directs the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
(IRS) to establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continuation of tax preparation programs to assist low-income taxpayers and members of under-served populations.”
Tax law certification levels
VITA services
There are also a number of tax topics that are "out-of-scope" for the program regardless of a tax preparer's certification. Even professionally licensed volunteers are prohibited from providing advice to taxpayers on out-of-scope topics in the capacity of a volunteer.
External links
grant programPub 4671provides the IRS VITA Grant overview and application instructions.
* A list of current grantee
here
Location look up
References
{{Reflist
1) IRS 4012 VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide (2) IRS 4491 VITA/TCE Training Guide (Includes content for Military Certification) (3) IRS 5157A VITA/TCE Affordable Care Act Taxpayer Scenarios (4) IRS 4942 VITA/TCE Specialty Course-Health Savings Accounts (HSA) (5) https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/ (6) https://www.irs.gov/individuals/choose-your-tax-volunteer-role
# Newville, David, and Joann Ain. Leveraging Tax Time for Working Families with Vita ... Prosperity Now, July 2018,
https://pndev.org/resources/leveraging-tax-time-working-families-vita.
# “IRS Tax Volunteers.” Internal Revenue Service, Oct. 2021,
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers.
# Thomas L. Hungerford, Rebecca Thiess, September 25. (2013.). The earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit: History, purpose, goals, and effectiveness. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from
https://www.epi.org/publication/ib370-earned-income-tax-credit-and-the-child-tax-credit-history-purpose-goals-and-effectiveness/
# H.R.2901 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act of 2017." Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 18 April 2018,
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2901.
Personal taxes in the United States
Internal Revenue Service