Five Reasons You Should Volunteer to Help Prepare Tax Returns

The Internal Revenue Service is currently seeking volunteers to support partners that provide free tax help to individuals during the tax filing season.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs are community based partnerships managed by the IRS that provide free tax return preparation assistance to low-to-moderate income taxpayers, seniors, people with disabilities and non-English speakers. So if you are looking for a way to help in your community then you should consider becoming a volunteer with one of these programs.

Here are five things the IRS wants you to know about becoming a VITA/TCE volunteer.

1. No previous experience is required. Volunteers receive specialized training from certified VITA/TCE volunteers and can serve as greeters, reviewers or tax preparers.
2. IRS provides free tax law training, e-file training and all the materials needed to prepare basic individual income tax returns.
3. The hours are flexible. Volunteers are asked to serve an average of three to four hours per week from mid-January through the tax deadline, which is April 17 in 2012. .
4. Volunteer sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools and other convenient locations.
5. Most VITA/TCE sites also offer free electronic filing of tax returns.

Last year more than 88,000 volunteers answered the call and made a difference by preparing more than 3 million tax returns for free at thousands of sites nationwide. Anyone can volunteer. It can be an exciting, educational and enjoyable experience. Think about becoming a volunteer and see what a difference it makes in your life as well as others.

Additional information about becoming a volunteer can be found at www.IRS.gov – and typing  key word “tax volunteer.” You can also send an email to taxvolunteer@irs.gov with your contact information along with the city and state where you want to become a volunteer.

Source: IRS.gov

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