Tens of thousands of working Virginians miss the opportunity to receive the life-changing state and federal tax credits that they are eligible for. Additionally, some are not able to secure bank accounts, credit, and other important financial resources because they have not filed their state and federal tax returns. That is why Total Action for Progress (TAP) offers the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This essential program provides hundreds of residents in our community with free federal and state tax preparation services.
VITA is a volunteer-run program that aims to aid low- to moderate-income residents in filing accurately and accessing potential refunds. TAP’s VITA Tax Clinic serves clients in 11 Virginia localities and extends services statewide through the GetYourRefund online platform, ensuring these essential resources are accessible to all qualifying residents. Volunteers are at the heart of free tax assistance. The more volunteers we can recruit, the more individuals and families we can serve. In the last tax season alone, over 800 volunteers across Virginia collectively filed almost 20,000 federal tax returns and gave back over 32,000 hours in service to their communities around the Commonwealth.
However, the need for this service has outgrown our capacity that is why we are issuing a call to the community for your support. No accounting or mathematical experience is needed to volunteer. Total Action for Progress (TAP) trained volunteers are certified to serve by the IRS, and typically set their own schedules during normal business hours. Additionally, there are a variety of flexible volunteer opportunities including appointment takers and intake coordinators, greeters, screeners, tax preparers, quality reviewers, and more. Training courses for volunteers are delivered online. The training process is smooth, hassle free, and often only takes 3-4 hours of time to become certified.
If you are interested in making a meaningful contribution to an individual or family’s life, please consider volunteering for our VITA program.
For more information, contact Teffany Henderson at teffany.henderson@tapintohope.org or 540-283-4916.
