We get it. Preparing tax returns doesn't sound glamorous. But it's a really important skill, and if you have it or could learn it, you should share the gift with your community.
United Way of Southwest Alabama operates a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Volunteers prepare tax returns for low and moderate income individuals and families. The whole program runs on volunteer power--volunteers who enjoy working with people and who want to help improve the quality of life for people in our community. We serve people who often cannot afford to pay someone to file their tax returns and don't feel comfortable or inclined to file their own. And now more than ever, demand for our services is on the rise.
Previous experience filing taxes isn't required, and we provide training for the required volunteer certification test. The most important skills to have include:
- Ability to work with people from varying backgrounds and circumstances
- Ability to learn and apply rules and tax law fairly and consistently
- Ability to make decisions and think critically to provide the most appropriate outcome for taxpayers
- Ability to enter information into tax software
- Attention to detail
- Proofreading skills a plus
Tax software does most of the math, so there's not a lot of manual calculation. Most people think doing tax returns is about working with numbers, but it's more about working with rules and working with people.
Training should begin in November for new volunteers, so register soon. We need to know how much training material to order from the Internal Revenue Service.
Here's a video from the IRS about the program. Please note: If you register for our need here on Volunteer Connect, you don't have to sign up with the IRS as mentioned in the video.
