The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Needs You!

The United Way of South Central Michigan's VITA Shared Services network is currently gearing up its volunteer recruitment effort for the 2022-2023 tax season to better serve its clients in nine Michigan counties (Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Montcalm, Shiawassee, Washtenaw). VITA Volunteers help keep money in the pockets of households who need it most through savings on tax preparation fees and access to refunds. As either a Tax Preparer, Intake Specialist, or Community Resource volunteer you can help us provide no-cost to the client, high-quality, tax services to those who make $60,000 or less per year. No prior experience or knowledge of taxes is necessary, our comprehensive training program results in an IRS certification, all you need is a general knowledge of computers.

New volunteers are advised to participate in one of our upcoming virtual, orientation sessions taking place on the dates listed here https://www.micauw.org/vita-volunteers. To RSVP or learn more about this program, please email Nick Miller at n.miller@uwscmi.org.

Tax Preparers are trained and IRS-certified to provide free income tax preparation services to working families. They help families avoid costly tax preparation fees, steer clear of predatory financial products and make the most of tax-time credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Michigan Home Heating Credit.

Duties:

Meet individually with clients, interview clients, review tax documents and prepare returns using professional tax software
Connect clients to meaningful savings opportunities
Refer clients to pertinent resources in the community that they may be interested in

Qualifications:

Must successfully complete free tax preparation training & pass IRS-certification test
Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality
Ability to build rapport & discuss sensitive financial information with care
No prior tax experience is required

Time Requirement:

At least 4-hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April)
Participation in 15-20 hours of flexible, virtual training

Training:

Tentatively, virtual tax training will begin to be posted in November, and be accessible anywhere with an internet connection. The sessions will follow pre-defined curriculum and allow volunteers to go at their own pace.
Short, in-person sessions will begin shortly after. All sessions will be recorded and can be viewed afterwards if attendance is not possible.
Both new and returning Volunteer Tax Preparers must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam

Benefits:

Gain professional skills while helping individuals and families improve their financial stability
Free tax law and tax preparation training, culminating in IRS certification
Support from trained tax professionals
Professional development and networking opportunities
Make new friends

Intake Specialists help to ensure that clients are able to access our free tax service by assisting them with the completion of forms as well as scanning and uploading documents to our secure, cloud-based database.

Duties:

Greet and direct new and returning clients
Respond to clients' questions
Scan and upload client's completed forms and tax information

Qualifications:

Able to work with a diverse population in a professional manner
Willingness to help people and answer questions
Must successfully complete free intake/interview training & pass IRS-certification test
Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality
No prior tax or customer service experience is required

Time Requirement:

At least four hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April)
Participation in 3-5 hours of flexible, virtual training

Training:

Virtual training takes place beginning in November.
Both new and returning intake specialists must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam

Benefits:

Gain professional skills while helping individuals and families boost their financial stability
Professional development and networking opportunities
Make new friends

Community Resource Volunteers help to ensure that clients gain access to invaluable community services and that our sites run as smoothly as they can by verifying documentation, answering clients' initial questions, and directing the movement of clients from preparation to quality review.

Duties:

Greet and direct new and returning clients
Refer clients to beneficial resources available in the community based on materials provided by UWSCMI
Enter client responses to surveys
Respond to clients' questions

Qualifications:

Able to work with a diverse population in a professional manner
Willingness to help people and answer questions
Must successfully complete free intake/interview training & pass IRS-certification test
Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality
No prior tax or customer service experience is required

Time Requirement:

At least four hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April)
Participation in 5-10 hours of flexible, virtual training with a limited in-person component

Training:

Virtual training takes place beginning in November.
Both new and returning Community Resource Volunteers must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam

Benefits:

Gain professional skills while helping individuals and families boost their financial stability
Professional development and networking opportunities
Make new friends

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