Welcome to VITA!
Studying tax law is essential for providing high-quality service to clients. Being a knowledgeable tax preparer goes beyond passing the test; it involves learning how to research and ask questions. Remember, you don't need to memorize everything – the IRS test is open-book, and you'll have resources like PUB 4012 and fellow volunteers to guide you. You're not doing this alone!"
or Peace of Mind​: As volunteers, we prioritize accuracy and have a double-check system in place, as required by the IRS. Quality reviews are conducted on every return prepared through VITA/TCE to catch any mistakes. Volunteers are protected under the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 and are not considered paid preparers. Working with a team of experienced volunteers ensures a supportive, fun, and collaborative environment. You're not alone in this journey!"
Follow the checklist for a successful tax season. Training resources are provided below, organized by tax preparation and intake form order. Thank you for being part of the VITA team!  Click Here To Print a checklist to track your progress
Disclaimer: The IRS has the following tax law training for volunteers as well if you prefer to use the IRS' training instead, ​ PUB 4491 covers tax Law for the VITA/TCE volunteer ​(available as a PDF) updated generally by mid October-click link. They have an interactive presentation of this information as well--to be updated some time in December.
For each section, Click on Image to access resource    
Every Volunteer Needs to ​Create a certification account online.
Click on Checkmark to learn more 
Every Volunteer Needs to:​ 
  • View Standards of Conduct/Ethics training then take the exam.
  • View Intake/Interview & Quality Review training and take exam.

Click on Checkmark to learn more 
​
Intake Form & Intake Interview
One of the most important parts of preparing a complete and accurate return.  It guides the intake/interview process and helps you gather all the needed information.

Click on checkmark for a breakdown by section and what to look for and some sample videos of the intake process.
If client indicates they are not a U.S. Citizen, you need to determine if they can file with VITA. 
Click on image for steps to take.

​See PUB 4012 L1 & L2
(Dependents  Who can be claimed as a dependent? What are the rules? 

​Well, it can depend on several things like: the person's age, relationship to taxpayer, where the person lives, their income, whether in school, what a divorce decree says...
To Learn about who can be a Qualifying Child & Qualifying Relative for tax purposes and possible credits click image.

See PUB 4012 Section C  -- I list dependents before filing status since you need to know if they have qualifying dependents in order to determine if they can file as Head of Household or Qualifying Surviving Spouse.
Filing Status
Choosing the correct & most advantageous filing status. While you may think that this is a white and black thing, just like everything else, there are exceptions to rules. 

Unfortunately, making a mistake in selecting the correct filing status can result in a variety of problems. 

To Learn about the Different Filing Statuses  click on image.

See PUB 4012 pages B12-B-17
Create a Taxslayer Practice Lab Account

It is time to create an account in Practice Lab so you can start playing around and getting familiar with the software. We are currently using Taxslayer, a wonderful program that has won the IRS bid for the VITA program. 
Income 
Learn about the various types of earned and unearned income and how to enter them in Taxslayer.**Some examples provided
​
This is a big section--a lot of information to cover

See Pub 4012 Section D
Adjustments to Income -
  • Teacher Expenses
  • Student Loan Interest
  • Health Savings Account Deduction (HSA Training can be found here)
  • IRA deduction (not ROTH)
  • Alimony PAID
  • Deductible part of self-employment tax
  • Self-employed health insurance deduction

​How are they different than credits? 
How do they affect the return?
Standard Deductions Tax Year 2022

What does it mean?
What are the TY2022 values?
How does it affect the return?

See PUB 4012 Section F
Standard Deduction
Taxes--  
  • ​Income tax, 
  • Self-employment tax, 
  • Excess advance premium tax credit repayment,
  • 1st Time Home Buyers Credit
  • Early Withdraw Penalty
  • and a few more we see at VITA sites

Luckily, the software calculates all the taxes for us once we enter all the 1099's and W2's
Credits
Credits are divided into 2 categories:
  • Non-Refundable and Refundable. 
  • Non-refundable credits
Visit this page to learn about the many credits and how they affect a tax return.
Marketplace / Affordable Care Act

Visit here to learn a little about how Marketplace works:
  • Why some people have to pay back and some get a refund for it on their tax return and others break even
  • Why it gets reported on the tax return
  • How to avoid a simple yet very costly error
  • What you can try to do when someone is forced to repay thousands of dollars back
  • and more..
Marketplace
Finishing a Return in Taxslayer

You entered all the income and credits, now you need to finish the return so the Quality Reviewer can double check your work.
Finishing a Return
Quality Review -- The 2nd set of eyes on a return-- a Non-Negotiable with VITA/TCE program.

There are several ways to do a quality review. 
Quality Review
Reviewing the Return with your client
It is important to be able to explain to the client the results of the return. I personally review the entire return with the client from beginning to end--the 1040 and schedules.
The client is going to be signing the return, taking responsibility for it, it would be nice if they knew what they were signing. PLUS, when you review the return with the client, sometimes they catch mistakes or missing information they forgot to mention. Think of it as a Final Review. **I CANNOT EXPRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THE CLIENT VERIFY THEIR BANK INFORMATION THEMSELVES ON PAPER BEFORE THEY SIGN AND BEFORE THE RETURN IS TRANSMITTED!!!!!  THIS IS FOR REFUNDS AND DIRECT DEBITS!!
Explaining the Return
Amending a Return after it has been e-filed. 

We can help clients that need to amend (change) a return after it has already been filed--whether it was done at your VITA site, or somewhere else (even outside of  VITA). Usually the site coordinators or more experienced volunteers will handle these-- but you don't become experienced without doing. It is not hard.
​
Amending a
​ Return
Click Here to Go to Home Page where you can find a link to the
​ Certification Help page where you will find Study Guides and other helpful tools. 
Remember your PUB 4012  is your 'Bible'-please refer to it, get familiar with it both in print and online. PUB 4012 and PUB 4491 should be your go to guide for tax questions.
​*As always, if you see an error or have a suggestion, please let me know. I am human, I make mistakes, and I am in no way a tax expert. 
Home
About
Contact Me
You can contact me at maryvitataxes@gmail.com 
Please note: I, Mary Meador, AM NOT a certified accountant or tax law expert. I volunteer with VITA providing free tax preparation for individuals and families whose income is less than $66,000 a year. We deal with simple returns at our sites.  I cannot guarantee the accuracy of all the information on this site as tax laws change and I may not have a clear understanding of complicated issues. I am trying to provide basic tax preparation information for our volunteers to get started--remember Publication 4012 is your go-to resource for questions, as well as irs.gov and Publication 17.  I hope you find this information useful and easy to understand. Thanks for being a VITA/TCE volunteer!
**I am human, so if you find a mistake, please let me know so I can fix it--we are all in this together**
​All images from our UWLHG Canva account unless promoting the resource linked to​