Become a Free Tax Site in the Bay Area!

Join the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Coalition

2013 TAX SEASON

What is Earn It! Keep It! $ave It! (EKS)?

• EKS is a coalition of over 200 organizations including community organizations, local government agencies, businesses, churches and many others

• The EKS Coalition provides free tax preparation services to low to moderate income households earning below $51,000 a year

History of EKS• In 2002, United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA), IRS, and

Congresswoman Barbara Lee convened representatives from the private, public, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors to establish the first EITC Coalition in Alameda County

• In 2003, 14 VITA sites offered free tax preparation in Alameda County $3,069,762 in total refunds

• The remaining UWBA counties organized by 2006:• 2004 Contra Costa & San Francisco $8,835,442 in total refunds• 2005 Napa, Solano & San Mateo $15,211,863 in total refunds• 2006 Marin $20,340,190 in total refunds

• 2012: 215 tax sites and over $68 million in total refunds

Why We Do What We Do• The Earned Income Tax Credit is a credit for working people that

can provide a large income support to a family’s annual income (this can be a credit up to $5,891 for a married couple with 3 children)

• Free tax preparation is a gateway to other income support or asset building services a family may need

• Eligible families are paying predatory and exorbitant fees to file their taxes with commercial preparers (preparation fees and loan costs are estimated at $320)

• 2010 VITA sites only prepared an average of 3% of returns that claimed the EITC for their 2009 tax return (this means a large percentage of families that really need free tax help are paying what they cannot afford for tax services)

THE “WHO” OF EKS

Who leads the EKS efforts?• United Way of the Bay Area leads the regional Earn It! Keep

It! Save It! coalition and supports all the counties in various ways

• Each county coalition has its own leadership made up of a county lead agency (if not UWBA), UWBA, IRS and in some cases an Advisory Committee

• EKS Lead Agencies:• Alameda: United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA staff)• Contra Costa: United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA staff)• Marin: Community Action Marin• Napa: United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA staff)• San Francisco and San Mateo: Tax-Aid• Solano: Children’s Network of Solano County

Who offers free tax help in EKS?• Most free tax sites in the EKS coalition operate VITA

(Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) sites - this can be you!• VITA is a 40 year running, national IRS program where

trained volunteers prepare tax returns for low income families according to IRS guidelines

• Free tax help is also provided by AARP Tax-Aide sites (they run another IRS program called Tax Counseling for the Elderly that focuses on seniors)

• Tax-Aid: tax professionals and students staff Saturday sites at locations across the Bay Area

WHAT IT TAKES

Site Coordinator• Each VITA site must have a Site Coordinator who can attend meetings

and trainings prior to the tax season in addition to coordinating all site operations during the tax season

• Each county holds mandatory monthly site coordinator meetings that cover IRS updates, ordering materials, volunteer recruitment, coalition trainings, marketing, and other operational logistics• Some counties meet all year; some meet just before the tax season and have

conference calls during the tax season• Site Coordinators must also be trained and certified as tax preparers to

the appropriate level• Your primary responsibilities at your VITA site are:

1. Overseeing site operation and tax preparation2. E-filing prepared tax returns3. Ordering site materials4. Scheduling and managing volunteers 5. Ensuring that every tax return is quality reviewed

Space and Equipment• VITA sites need computers and printers with capacity to

run tax preparation software and access to the internet• VITA sites use TaxWise tax preparation software• TaxWise comes in either an online version accessed

through the internet, or a version loaded onto the hard drive or network of their computers (software is provided for free and must be ordered through IRS)

• Technical support is provided by TaxWise• Limited equipment may be available through the IRS• Each site also needs adequate space for preparing

returns at computers and a client waiting or greeting area

• If possible, computer stations should be separate enough to provide privacy for each taxpayer

Volunteers• Each VITA site is responsible for recruiting and managing their own volunteers• All volunteers must pass an ethics exam• Volunteers are certified to basic, intermediate and/or advanced levels (these

levels represent the level of tax law knowledge)• Volunteers must pass an exam to be certified at each level• Tax law support is provided to volunteers at VITA sites through a 1-800 number• Volunteers are trained to prepare tax returns through a 3 to 5 day class or online training

modules and must take an exam• Volunteer positions at a VITA site include: tax preparer, screener, greeter,

interpreter and quality reviewer, and others (varies by site)• According to the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, volunteers are exempt from

liability if:• The volunteer was acting within the scope of their responsibilities• The volunteer was properly licensed (certified, in our case)• The volunteer was not acting in gross negligence or willful misconduct

RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities of a VITA siteEach VITA site is required to:

Recruit, manage and retain its volunteers Ensure their volunteers are certified and prepare tax returns

within their scope of training and level of certification Commit to preparing at least 35 tax returns per the IRS VITA

guidelines Each VITA site determines their hours of operation and scheduling

method (appointment or walk-in) It is recommended for first year sites to take appointments

according to your site’s capacity Follow all privacy and security guidelines regarding

equipment and taxpayer data Adhere to all quality site requirements established by the

IRS (training is provided on quality site requirements)

Additional VITA Site Responsibilities

Attend monthly (bimonthly conference calls in some cases) site coordinator meetings September through April

Attend additional trainings as required such as transmitter training and site coordinator training

Administer a survey to clients about their demographics and use of the free tax services then submit completed surveys to UWBA

Report to UWBA and other lead agencies on program outcomes Provide data as requested about program operations and tax return

results to coalition leads and UWBA in a timely manner Ensure site operation hours are updated with the call center, UWBA,

county leads and IRS Follow all end-of-season close out procedures as laid out by IRS

Alternative Ways to Prepare Taxes

Facilitated Self Assistance•Individual workstations for tax preparation where taxpayers prepare their own returns•Site involvement generally limited to getting an IRS Certified volunteer to answer tax law questions, providing reference materials, and supplies

• An IRS Certified volunteer must be present at all times during site hours (does not have to be equivalent to organization’s hours)

• No scope restriction for taxpayers, but volunteer limited to answering questions in scope of training and cannot help with taxpayers that have out-of-scope issues

• Site cannot prepare returns for taxpayers•Ideal for established sites that have capacity issues and sites with limited resources for tax preparation

• Possibly limited interaction with taxpayers depending on implementation• Taxpayers responsible for fixing own rejected returns• Software not programmed to prepare all returns, including returns involving non-residents

(e.g. foreign students), community property issues, and amended returns

Virtual VITA•Taxpayer drops off documents at an intake site, return is prepared at a separate preparation site

• Intake site – organizations where taxpayer can come to get tax preparation service•Intake site receives taxpayer information, handles administrative tasks, and provides a copy of the tax return

• Administrative tasks include: explaining process and getting taxpayer to sign consent and other required forms, coordinate appointment schedules, and forwarding copies of taxpayer documents to preparation site securely

• Does not answer tax law questions unless IRS certified• Can facilitate communication between taxpayer and preparation site using phone or over the

internet•Ideal for organizations that are unable to provide tax preparation on site; an agreement must be reached with an existing VITA site

• Agreement must include details about how taxpayer information will be transferred, how the intake site will receive the completed return, and the type of procedures the intake site will perform

SUPPORT

Support Provided by the EKS Coalition• Training for staff and volunteers• TaxWise software needed to prepare and e-file tax returns• Technical assistance and trouble-shooting throughout the tax season• A regional hotline number (2-1-1) • EKS website to promote the coalition sites www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org • Regional and county specific outreach materials and media relations• Connections with experienced site coordinators (who can mentor and

share best practices)• Supplemental volunteer recruitment• Data collection and reporting

FUNDING

Funding for VITA sites

• United Way of the Bay Area has provided small grants to VITA sites, when funding is available

• Our philosophy: Organizations must see the value in providing free tax services to their community and UWBA funding is just supporting the good work!

• Funding from UWBA is not intended to cover all costs of operating the VITA site• We encourage sites to leverage funding from other sources using the UWBA

dollars as a match• Additional in-kind coalition supports (from prior slide) are estimated at $15,000

per site• Typical costs for a VITA site are: staff time, computers and printers, office supplies

( paper, toner, file folders, etc.) food for your volunteers, volunteer recognition event/party and space rental (if applicable)

TIMELINE

Before Tax Season

During Tax Season

After Tax Season

FINANCIAL STABILITY

More Than Free Tax Help• Earn It! Keep It! Save It! strives to provide free tax preparation to working

families in order to help them become more financially stable• Offering free tax preparation allows organizations to gather clients for their

other asset building services• Many VITA sites offer free tax preparation as one of their many income support

or asset building services. Other services include:– Financial education– Taxpayer education – Mainstream banking products access– Benefits screening and enrollment– One-on-one financial coaching– Individual development accounts (IDA), which is a matched savings accounts– Credit building or credit report education– Workforce development or job training

WHY

Top 10 Reasons to be a VITA site

10. Your organization already provides asset building services to working families and free tax help would be a great addition!

9. You want to introduce clients to savings and asset building 8. You value being part of a coalition7. You want to build partnerships and referral networks with organizations serving

working families6. You want to empower your clients to know more about their tax situation5. You want to build the skills of your staff and volunteers4. Your organization wants to attract new clients3. Your organization is looking to heighten their visibility in the community2. You want to increase awareness about your other services among clients1. You want to help your clients get back the money they deserve!

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