For years, I was a site coordinator for the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at our local senior center. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a volunteer opportunity.
VITA is a program that offer free tax preparation and/or assistance for low-to-moderate income individuals. The specific type of client served differs from site to site – at our site, we prepared returns for seniors whose incomes met certain criteria.
You don’t have to be a tax rock star to volunteer – there are lots of ways to help out. You can be a greeter, assist with intake and appointments (we had appointments at our site) or prepare returns. Training is available to assist with the preparation of returns – software and computers are also typically provided for your use. You can also help with publicizing existing programs (yes, bloggers, this means you).
I volunteered for many years with an outstanding gentleman named John Swift. John was not a tax professional – he was a retired engineer that got involved through Notre Dame’s alum program. While I might not be the biggest fan of Notre Dame football, I will say that their Philadelphia area alum program is terrific with many of the alums volunteering hours of their time week after week to help out with VITA. John really spearheaded the program at our site, hauling computers and portable printers to and from the site, and working hard at his own home to make sure that the right copies of the right forms got to the right people. He was a great spirit and devoted countless hours to VITA. He was also a dad and a granddad – he really focused on how fortunate he had been in his lifetime and endeavored to be of service to others. John passed away this year on Tax Day, which seems fitting. He was a great example of what it means to give back.
I hope you’ll consider following John’s example. It’s a great program that helps a lot of folks out. Each year, I would drag our interns and some associates down to the site to work on returns and meet the seniors. I think that they all learned a lot – not just about the quirky facets of the Tax Code – but also about working with others, serving clients and being professional.
I met a lot of wonderful volunteers and clients at VITA. My favorite client to this day remains the gentleman who told me, with a twinkle in his eye, that his occupation was “Spy.” And it was truly gratifying to have so many seniors clearly relieved to have their filings over with – many are scared to file because they don’t understand the forms and are worried that they will owe money. In fact, at our site, we were able to secure refunds for many seniors who had significant withholdings on meager pensions (don’t get me started on this).
If this sounds like something that might interest you, consider finding a local VITA program to work with next tax season. To locate the nearest VITA site, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
If you are a private or public 501(c)(3) organization or state or local government agency, you might want to consider starting your own VITA site. IRS has made grants available this year for VITA participants. The IRS will award matching grants to extend services to underserved populations and hard-to-reach areas, both urban and non-urban. The grants will also be used to increase the capacity to file returns electronically and enhance training of volunteers at VITA sites.
The grant is a matching funds grant meaning that you have to offer funds to receive funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis. However, matching funds includes not only cash, but computer hardware and software and third-party, in-kind contributions.
I hope you’ll consider helping out.
(Hat Tip: Tax Prof Blog)
I participated in VITA as well, and hope to find the time again this year. I find it a very worthwhile experience, especially when so much of my practice is geared to estate and gift tax, it helps keep me on my toes.
I’ve participated in the AARP-administered program for several years. I worked 27 years in Industry but have never felt as appreciated as I do in this program. The Seniors are wonderful, aren’t they?
J, since I don’t prepare forms 1040 for paying clients anymore, I find that VITA helps keep me on my toes, too. With the seniors, you still get stuff like RR bens – who sees those anymore?
Melody, I agree. I’ve had little old ladies squeeze my hands with tears in their eyes to thank me… It’s a wonderful feeling.
I am not able to pay for tax preparation, I’m 54, is there a VITA group available in the Ill (south suburbs). I realize that the tax season is past – but the IRS has requested my 2007 return. I’m self-employed and made less than $7,000 in 2007, there are no assets.
Thank you,
Delia M
You know what, although this article was written years ago, I found it still helpful as I am researching VITA grant for 2026, and I just started my first year as site coordinator, but not under a 501c3. I think it will be best to create my own 501c3 and apply for a grant versus applying under my church as I could have the site offer various things in the community in relation to financial literacy. BY the way, I love the tax girl name it’s beautiful! I say I’m the tax doctor lol.