Return to Home Page TAX PREPARATION TRAINING FOR 2011 TAX SEASON
STEP ONE: Register If you are interested in volunteering as a tax preparer for one of our VITA sites in Manhattan or Brooklyn during the 2011 tax season (mid-January through mid-April), please send an email to Pamela Davis at pdavis [at] nycfnac.org. We will add you to our database of volunteer prospects and keep you informed about training modules and dates in late 2010. If you don't hear back from us within a week of sending your email or you haven't been notified about training opportunities by mid-November, please email Pamela again to query. Your commitment to this program is greatly appreciated! Please visit our VITA Program page to see how important your contribution can be! And please note that many of our best volunteers did not have much or any tax preparation experience before they began volunteering. It is truly worth the effort!
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STEP TWO: Review All tax preparation volunteers for VITA must certify each year. New and returning volunteer should review the 2011 tax season's version of the IRS's "Link and Learn" program when it becomes available in November 2010. You should also use the site's Practice Lab to familiarize yourself with the TaxWise software program utilized at VITA sites. (The password for the Practice Lab is learntwo.) New volunteers should complete the Basic review, which may take several hours, depending on your study style. If you’d like to look at the test before you take it, the test and re-test for each certificate level will also be available online in November 2010. Our office will also have a small amount of the IRS's study packets by early December. Please notify pdavis@nycfnac.org if and when you'd like to pick up a packet. (Please note that most if not all of the study materials are on the IRS's site.) Returning volunteers can take the "Returning Volunteer" module. Returning volunteers are also encouraged to certify at the Intermediate level. We do not need any volunteers to certify at the Advanced, Military or International level. |
STEP THREE: Test The IRS's VITA certification tests for 2011 will be available on their website in November 2010. Every tax preparation volunteer for VITA is required to pass at least the "Basic" level test for 2011. You can only take the test two times, so you should make sure that you have completed your review in Step Two (and perhaps taken a practice test) before attempting the test. When you pass the test, please download the certificate and volunteer agreement, as instructed on the IRS website, and email them to Pamela Davis at pdavis [at] nycfnac.org. Once you've passed "Basic," we highly encourage you to review and take the test for the "Intermediate" level, but only "Basic" is required! (We do not need volunteers to certify at any of the other levels--i.e. Military or Advanced--but if you are particularly ambitious and confident after passing the "Intermediate" exam, please let us know if you are interested in training as a "Quality Reviewer.")
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STEP FOUR: On-Site Training In December and January, we will be holding in-person trainings in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for volunteers who have completed their "Link and Learn" review and certification. As soon as you have passed the Basic test, please email Pamela at pdavis@nycfnac.org to register for one of these trainings. Please note that if you choose the weekday evening training option, you will have to attend both evenings. NEW VOLUNTEER TRAINING December and January dates to be determined! RETURNING VOLUNTEER TRAINING December and January dates to be determined! Registration for the trainings will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us!
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