2009 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program

KPMG Building, Washington, DC, Jan 28, 2009 -- The roads were icy and in typical DC-fashion the TV News had hyped the “emergency” enough. Still, a hardy, group of ALPFA-DC members and guests gathered at the Dupont Circle offices of KPMG to network over sandwiches and cookies and hear a VITA presentation. Elsa Luis from Fairfax County spoke to the group to introduce the VITA Program.

Through a coalition of libraries, faith and community-based groups, public agencies, and businesses, the VITA Program is dedicated to helping low-income individuals and families prepare their tax returns at no cost. VITA evolved from a program run by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees to a volunteer-based program. Like most of us would, a significant number of people that qualify for this program (currently for incomes under $42,000) do not feel at ease speaking directly to an IRS employee for tax assistance. Using volunteers has proven to be a better way to reach out to the community.

Tax centers at multiple locations need volunteers to welcome and screen tax filers and for tax preparation. Bi-lingual volunteers, in particular, are in great need. Tax preparers must be certified by the IRS. Certification materials are available on the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov/; search for “Link and Learn”) along with program overview and study materials. As an incentive, Ms. Luis is willing to work with companies and groups, such as ALPFA, to bring the training to them. Less experienced tax preparation volunteers are paired with others that are more experienced and there is always a second review to verify the accuracy of the tax forms prior to filing. IRS-certified VITA volunteers receive liability protection and, if needed, the program provides follow-up assistance.

In the past, ALPFA has worked with Fairfax County and CentroNia in Washington, DC. Among those attending this event, Carlos Probus and Valerie Green had been VITA volunteers in the past and spoke of their experience. Carlos, a member of the ALPFA-DC Board of Directors, participated last year in Northern Virginia. Valerie, will be participating for the second year at the Martin Luther King Library in Washington, DC. Valerie strongly encouraged everyone to participate and added that she is not a tax professional and if she could pass the certification exam, everyone else could too.

Thanks go to Edgar Jimenez for coordinating, Ms. Elsa Luis for her presentation and her efforts in the community, and KPMG for hosting this event. For more information, please visit the IRS website or the Fairfax County VITA website (http://nvacash.org/vita/). To request training at your work place, please contact Ms. Luis at elsa.luis@fairfaxcounty.gov. ALPFA is planning to host a certification event and participation days, if you are interested, please send email to Communications@washingtondc.alpfa.org.