VITA

Volunteers needed for St. Vincent de Paul Society

Income Tax Prep Service

 As the upcoming Income Tax Filing season draws near, volunteers are needed to assist in the VITA (Voluntary Income Tax Assistance) program hosted by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in partnership with the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign.  This program provides a free income tax preparation service to clients that are at or below the Federal poverty level (42,000) using only 1040 or 1040EZ returns.  The program insures the individuals receive all benefits and deductions for which they qualify and allows households to retain the excessive fees charged by some preparers, impacting the family financial status.  Volunteers are needed for two primary positions:  Intake Administrator/Greeter, Quality Reviewers and Individual Tax Preparers.

 Intake Administrator/Greeters

Job Description

• Welcome clients to VITA Site.
• Provide taxpayers with intake forms to complete and help with completion of forms as necessary.
• Ensure that taxpayers have all necessary documents.
• Ensure the taxpayer qualifies for VITA assistance.
• Manage flow of taxpayers according to Site operational procedures.

 Qualifications

• Basic tax law knowledge, but does not need to know how to prepare a tax return.
• Basic training (2-4 hours) – Filing requirements, EITC/CTC basics and other administrative issues.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong organization and crowd management skills.
• Good attention to detail

 Quality Reviewer

Job Description:

• Performs a quality review of returns prepared by volunteer tax preparers for accuracy and completeness.
• Prepares tax returns as needed depending on Site volume.

 Qualifications:

• VITA Volunteer tax preparer for AT LEAST 2 years.
• VITA training session (4-6 hours). 
• Pass IRS certification test.
• Strong computer skills.
• Good attention to detail.

 Tax Preparer

Job Description

• Prepare tax returns for taxpayers who qualify for VITA assistance.  Tax returns are typically simple 1040 or 1040-EZ.
• Answer taxpayers questions; referring taxpayers for additional assistance as necessary to local the IRS office, Low Income Tax Clinics (LITC), etc.

 Qualifications

• If no prior tax preparation experience:
  • Basic tax law training (6-8 hours)
  • TaxWise software training (4-6 hours)
  • Pass IRS certification test. 

• If tax professional or returning VITA volunteer:
  • VITA training session (4-6 hours). 
  • Pass IRS certification test.
  • Strong computer skills.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
  • Good attention to detail.

To volunteer contact: jverrecchia@svdpatl.org

For further information about the VITA program please visit www.atlantaprosperity.org.