IRS News:

PHOENIX – Helping in either the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs can be rewarding while serving a vital role in your local community.

The VITA and TCE programs offer free tax help to people with low-to-moderate income, senior citizens, persons with disability, those who have limited English proficiency and others who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. In the majority of the free tax help sites, taxpayers can get one-on-one help from IRS-certified volunteers who prepare their taxes for them. Volunteers are needed in all these sites during the tax filing season.

Don’t know that much about taxes? Don’t worry, you’ll get specialized training or you can choose a volunteer role that doesn’t require tax law certification. The hours are flexible, the training is free and the time commitment is up to you.

Volunteers are needed to electronically prepare both federal and State of New Mexico tax returns, to greet people, maintain computers and associated equipment, manage the workflow and volunteers and occasionally act as a translator for non-English speakers.

Training will be offered soon – in December and January. Tax law instruction and training materials will be provided at no cost. Volunteers are asked upon completion of training, to volunteer three to four hours a week at a near-by site during the tax season.  Tax season begins in February and runs through tax day, Tuesday, April 15, 2014.

Interested?  Contact the Tax Volunteer Program by email at taxvolunteer@irs.gov or volunteer online by using the VITA/TCE Volunteer Sign Up – Form 14310 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14310.pdf) or call the IRS, toll free, at 1-800-829-1040 and tell them you want to become a tax volunteer!