Sample Forms  15272 and 14446 for using the Customer Portal.
Part 2- Special Situations-- Intake Interview
Slides from our Site Coordinator Meeting
Prior Year Return - Special Handling-- Shared by (Diane R.- Thank you!)
Now, the software will automatically calculate the recipients age at time they received 1st check from this account, and if you check the box for joint--it will calculate the total of both ages. Sweet!
New for 2024-- brought back to the top (because I forgot I already had them here--good grief Mary
Foreign Student/Teacher scenario results- You might have the test answers right, but what about the return itself?
Make sure you use the Worksheet found 

Site coordinator page updated--check it out --more to come
Dear IRiS Letters by Brad, click the image of the newspaper
Great for teaching, reviewing and learning.
6 Sessions that cover so much stuff-- a great resource for much of what we see at a site--great for all scholars and new volunteers
Broken down in short segments. Still need to review/learn more but a great foundation of the basics and it stresses the need to make notes and use your book!
Here is an Intake Interview video from Martha J. Lewis' team at Pikes Peak United Way in Colorado!  
P.S.--LOVE  Her Shirts!
Train From Home--updated 
Step by Step Guide to Certifying
UPDATED WITH NEW TESTING SITE LINK
also how to send your agreement to your program manger

Part 2/Day 2 Volunteer Training updated

Including how to get Support Help when you can no longer access the email address you used to create your account. 
Age Reference Sheets--shared by Tim M in Ohio!
Might really come in handy with the new intake form
Ethics Video--  from Martha J. Lewis' at Pikes Peak United Way in Colorado--who had too much fin making this!
Information here is shared by many VITA programs across the country--if you have information you would like to share-please send :)
How to access the certification site and create account (my version)

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How to Electronically Sign your Volunteer Agreement and Send to your Program Manager
Changes for Tax Year 2024!!!  ----CLICK IMAGES TO OPEN -- SEE OTHER PAGES--IMAGES ARE LINKS!!
From PUB 4491-- 
Study Guide and Answer Checker Tool is up and ready for TY2024--Click Here 

An Advanced Topic: Itemized Deduction-Medical Expenses (Capital Expenses)   added 9/22/24
​FYI--*Two different taxpayers called me a few years back--one asked if they remodeled their shower/tub could it be claimed as a medical expense since they no longer physically can get into their tub/shower, they other wanted to know if they installed a jacuzzi because it would help her feel better due to her medical condition.  They wanted to know before they made the purchase/expense -- So I had to do some research.  *I did ask about their source of income-one had no taxable income at all so it would not benefit her to report on taxes. 
For the other:  Per IRS PUB 502 (page 5-6)  Capital Expenses: 
  • You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse, or your dependent. The cost of permanent improvements that increase the value of your property may be partly included as a medical expense. The cost of the improvement is reduced by the increase in the value of your property. The difference is a medical expense. 
    • Example:  If improvement costs $25,000 and the increase in value of the home is $18,000 then only the difference of $7,000 can be claimed for medical expenses. ($25,000-$18,000=$7,000) 
    • If the value of your property isn't increased by the improvement, the entire cost is included as a medical expense.
  • Certain improvements made to accommodate a home to your disabled condition, or that of your spouse or your dependents who live with you, don't usually increase the value of the home and the cost can be included in full as medical expenses. These improvements include, but aren't limited to, the following items. • Constructing entrance or exit ramps for your home. • Widening doorways at entrances or exits to your home. • Widening or otherwise modifying hallways and interior doorways. • Installing railings, support bars, or other modifications to bathrooms. • Lowering or modifying kitchen cabinets and equipment. • Moving or modifying electrical outlets and fixtures. • Installing porch lifts and other forms of lifts (but elevators generally add value to the house). • Modifying fire alarms, smoke detectors, and other warning systems. • Modifying stairways. • Adding handrails or grab bars anywhere (whether or not in bathrooms). • Modifying hardware on doors. • Modifying areas in front of entrance and exit doorways. • Grading the ground to provide access to the residence. 
    • Only reasonable costs to accommodate a home to your disabled condition are considered medical care. Additional costs for personal motives, such as for architectural or aesthetic reasons, aren't medical expenses. 
    • Cost & Upkeep -- amounts you pay for operation and upkeep of a capital asset qualify as medical expenses as long as the main reason for them is medical care. This rule applies even if none or only part of the original cost of the capital asset qualified as a medical care expense.
  • Improvements to property rented by a person with a disability. Amounts paid to buy and install special plumbing fixtures for a person with a disability, mainly for medical reasons, in a rented house are medical expenses. 
    • Example. You have arthritis and a heart condition. You can't climb stairs or get into a bathtub. On the doctor's advice, you install a bathroom with a shower stall on the first floor of your two-story rented house. The landlord didn't pay any of the cost of buying and installing the special plumbing and didn't lower the rent. You can include the entire amount you paid as medical expenses.
  • Car-You can include in medical expenses the cost of special hand controls and other special equipment installed in a car for the use of a person with a disability
    • Special design. You can include in medical expenses the difference between the cost of a regular car and a car specially designed to hold a wheelchair.
My note on the person wanting to install a  jacuzzi-- I personally thought this might be a hard sell to the IRS-I suggested she get something in writing from her doctor saying it was medically necessary  --I could not see the IRS going for that otherwise. 
 Not something our VITA tax preparers need to worry about-send taxpayers to LITC or TAS   added 9/22/2024

How to decide if you need an IRS installment agreement--
See Warnings—there are drawbacks to this for some
(and other options like Offer in Compromise, and more) 
This I find interesting as I have had so very many taxpayers coming to me this Summer (sent by IRS) to file 3-10 years of taxes... so I made notes for myself
Self-Employed Worksheet specific for Realtors -- we have a lot of realtors come in   ​added 9/22/24
Sale of Main Home 
Clint Eastwood & Maggie Johnson- Client Information
My Notes
Summer School Session A- Dependents and Filing Status
Summer School Session B-Self Employment 
Summer School Session C-Capital Gains (coming soon)
Picture


Added 8/3/2024

​Medicaid Waiver Payment
ADDED 8/22/2024--So what should the taxpayer do if they are issued a Social Security Number in the future?
**Remember-- the ITIN and SSN are like account numbers**
Once someone who used to have an ITIN is issued a Social Security Number, they MUST write a letter to the IRS and ask that they connect their 2 accounts, so all the records of income they have earned and reported and all the taxes they have paid into Social Security and Medicare can be applied to their Social Security Number. **DO NOT ASSUME THE IRS WILL DO THIS FOR YOU**THIS IS HOW YOU TELL SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AS WELL**
From IRS.gov:  Please notify us that you have obtained an SSN and no longer need the ITIN by visiting a local IRS office or writing a letter explaining that you have now been assigned an SSN and want your tax records combined.
If you write a letter, include:
  • your complete name, mailing address, and ITIN
  • along with a copy of your social security card and a copy of the CP 565, Notice of ITIN Assignment, if available.
The IRS will void the ITIN so it cannot be used by anyone in the future and associate all prior tax information filed under the ITIN with the SSN.

Send your letter to:
Internal Revenue Service,
Austin, TX 73301-0057.
Examples of How to Complete a Money Order for IRS payment in English & Spanish  8/3/2024

A 2023 VERSION OF THE 1040 in Haitian Creole (not for tax filing purposes-- for reference purposes only) 8/3/2024  
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Contact Me
You can contact me at [email protected] 
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​