The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Catholic Community Services, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the Internal Revenue Service need community volunteers to help Arizona families and area residents to complete their tax returns.
Community tax volunteers are needed across Arizona and especially in Tucson, Green Valley, Oro Valley, and Marana.
“Who volunteers? People like you,” said Liz Thomey, Catholic Community Services, Pio Decimo Center Spokesperson. “The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program must have community volunteers to continue the good work. Training is provided and previous experience is not required. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome.”
Many volunteer positions are available. Volunteers can help electronically file both federal and State of Arizona income tax returns, greet taxpayers and help organize their paperwork, set up and keep computer equipment running, manage tax sites and handle quality control. Volunteers are also needed to assist with Spanish/English interpretation and discuss tax time savings opportunities with taxpayers.
“All volunteers preparing returns are IRS-certified to complete returns for people with low to moderate incomes, senior citizens, disabled individuals and for people with English is a second language,” said Thomey. “There is a volunteer role for anyone who is interested and wants to give back to their community.”
The program provides volunteers with free training materials on how to prepare basic individual income tax returns and how to file them electronically. Instruction will cover both federal and state income tax returns.
Both online and classroom training is available and will take place between December and January. Once certified, volunteers can spend as little as three to four hours per week volunteering from January through April.
For more information or to volunteer, contact the volunteer phone line at (520) 622-2801, extension 7124 or send an email to liz@ccs-pio.org.