Are you looking for impactful, CRA-qualified volunteer opportunities during the pandemic?
The IRS and local social service nonprofits in your communities are looking for volunteers to support the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a free basic tax return preparation service to qualified individuals.
The program enables the earned income tax credit (EITC), a tax credit that helps certain U.S. taxpayers with low earned incomes to report for the tax year. The EITC reduces the amount of tax owed on a dollar-for-dollar basis and may result in a refund to the taxpayer if the credit amount is greater than the amount of tax owed.
Households that qualify for the EITC can reduce their tax liability to zero, in which case they will owe no income taxes and will be refunded any taxes that were withheld during the year. If the income tax owed is reduced to below zero, the government will issue a tax refund for the difference.
- People who generally make $57,000 or less
- Persons with disabilities; and
- Limited English-speaking taxpayers
Where To Start
While the IRS manages the VITA program, the VITA sites are managed by IRS partners and staffed by volunteers who want to make a difference in their communities. The IRS-certified volunteers who provide tax counseling are often retired individuals associated with non-profit organizations that receive grants from the IRS.
Either go the IRS website or click here to access the search tool, which will list the local VITA sites in your local assessment areas. Reach out to one of the local nonprofit service providers to get involved in the VITA program. You will start by training online. Then you will be deployed and help prepare tax returns and other VITA program support activities.
Don’t worry, you do not need to have accounting expertise. The program is driven by a computer algorithm that does all of the calculations and processes information in a simple, step-by-step process. Your primary role is to work with the individuals and input data!
Speaking of data, if you need help managing your community development data, check out Kadince Software. Kadince streamlines the collection, management, and reporting of community involvement data so that you can focus on more important activities. Schedule a demo today so you can streamline your community development efforts.
If you want to take an even deeper dive into core CRA concepts and convene with your fellow CRA colleagues, consider joining the CRA Hub! Learn more here.
CRA Today offers a wide variety of training and advisory services to help you master the CRA. Whether you are new(er) to the CRA or a seasoned professional, we stand ready to get your exam ready and help you drive impact into your local communities.
- Driving Impact and Building Trust: The Power of Collaboration Between Compliance Professionals and Lenders in Community Development Lending - August 1, 2023
- Finish Strong, as published in ABA Bank Compliance - December 31, 2022
- What’s a Capital Stack and How Does it Work? - November 18, 2021