Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Sponsored by VITA

Deadline: May 15 

Overview

The VITA Program is an excellent opportunity for Beta Alpha Psi chapters to gain exposure on campus and in the community.  As an added benefit, chapter members that volunteer gain valuable practical experience in income tax preparation which is a life skill. 

Prize/Award 

Alternate Filing Award – Recognizes BAP chapters that participated in the Facilitated Self-Assisted (FSA) and/or Virtual (Domestic) VITA models.

Return Preparation - Recognizes BAP chapters that prepared more than 500 returns (combination of Traditional, FSA, and/or Virtual, and 1040NR/EZ

Regional Award - Recognizes regions that have at least 40%  chapters participation in VITA Program
 
Volunteer Hours – Recognizes the top three BAP Chapters with the most VITA volunteer hours.
1)    Sites coordinated by BAP Chapter
2)    Sites coordinated by community partner
 
Superior Award – Presented to the best performing BAP chapter that excelled in VITA return preparation and volunteer hours. 

Eligibility

All chapters are eligible to participate in VITA. 

Process

VITA has two ways for chapters to participate:
  1. Traditional– Chapter members provide free income tax preparation assistance to chapter members, students, and the community. These sites are generally located on campus.
  2. Facilitated Self Assistant (FSA) – Allows students to prepare and electronically file their own tax return with the aid of a VITA certified volunteer, if needed.
Each chapter must submit the following to Rawlin Tate, rawlin.tate@irs.gov, for award consideration:

Award Process

Winners are determined by the IRS. 

Contact

For more information please contact Rawlin Tate, Senior Tax Analyst – IRS at (404) 338-8369 or rawlin.tate@irs.gov, or reach out to your VITA Territory Manager. 

Other Information

For those participating the traditional way, please refer to the IRS Volunteer Site Coordinator Handbook for guidance.