Dear VITA/FSA Partners,

The IRS online training and certification portal and materials are now updated for the 2016 Filing Season (2015 tax year).

 Remember, as OCUW Campaign Partners:

1.       All volunteers are required to annually complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) (Ethics) Training and pass the VSC test with a score of 80% or above, prior to working at a site.

2.       All volunteers are required to complete Intake/Interview & Quality Review Training and pass the new certification test through Link and Learn Taxes and/or Form 6744, VITA/TCE Volunteer Assistor’s Test/Retest, unless they are simply acting as translators.

3.       All tax preparers, quality reviewers, site coordinators, and any volunteers who answer tax law questions, instruct tax law, prepare or correct tax returns and/or conduct quality reviews of completed tax returns must complete either the BASIC or ADVANCED levels of certification.

4.       All Site Coordinators are required to certify at the ADVANCED level. 

a.       While this is not an IRS regulation, the Campaign has found that too often Site Coordinators are called on to answer detailed questions from the volunteers, and it is best to be certified and prepared.

 Link & Learn Taxes:   https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/basic_student.jsp

 Practice Lab tax simulation software:   www.voltaxprep.com, the password is "learntwo"

 TRAINING PUBLICATIONS to help volunteers get prepared:

4491: VITA Training Guide—click HERE to view
4491W: VITA Problems and Exercises—click HERE to view (2014 is the correct version) 
4491W ANSWERS: Will be available December 2015 (per IRS, but if you have last year’s it should be the same)
4012: VITA Volunteer Resource Guide—click HERE to view
4961: VITA Standards of Conduct–Ethics Training—click HERE to view
6744: VITA Volunteer Assister’s Test/Retest—click HERE to view