Help your neighbors survive tough times

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a program that provides free tax preparation to individuals; called Volunteer Income Tax Assis-tance/Tax Counseling for the Elderly (VITA/TCE). The service can make taxes easier for people whose incomes are $50,000 or less. Your organization can sponsor a volunteer site in a number of ways, including hosting a tax assistance site, recruiting volunteers or donating equipment or supplies to another VITA/TCE sponsor.  
    Through the free service, VITA/TCE volunteers help preserve the value of tax credits, such as the child and earned income tax credits. Those credits can put additional money back into the hands of eligible taxpayers.
    Volunteers come from all walks of life, and sources such as corporate, academic, professional, accounting, retirement, religious, military and community groups. Volunteers work out of sites that are set up at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other locations convenient to the public.  
    Another advantage to VITA/TCE is that people can electronically file their federal income tax returns at no charge. If you sponsor VITA/TCE, you can be involved in offering IRS e-file to your customers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of tax returns are processed electronically through the VITA/TCE program. IRS e-file is more accurate and so fast that your customers can have their tax refunds in as little as 10 days.
    Local IRS offices join with community organizations and volunteers to provide VITA/TCE training materials, tax preparation software and technical support.  
    If you are interested in exploring VITA/TCE opportunities, let us hear from you. Ideally, partnering organizations will have physical facilities and computers that can be used for a VITA/TCE site and will have the desire to achieve a high degree of self-sufficiency.  Some organizations may wish to join an existing community coalition to combine limited or specialized resources.
    Sound like a good idea?  If you or your organization is interested, please contact me at miguel-ina.y.chevalier@irs.gov or (401) 528-1856.

    Meg Chevalier is a senior tax specialist in the Providence office of the Internal Revenue Service. To contact or ask her a question, e-mail miguelina.y.chevalier@irs.gov.