Monday, December 22, 2008

College Credit for passing tax certification?

I am helping recruite volunteers as an AmericorpsVISTA.

Can volunteers get college credit for passing the courses?

Would you recommend usingboth the workbook and Link and Learn or both?

Personally I would recommend studying the bookand using link and learn to review and codify the learning experience.

Dave xxxxxx

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Answers:
  1. Whether volunteers get college credit for passing the courses would depend on the college where credit is sought. There does not appear to be any mechanism announced through the IRS that grants college credit.
  2. The certification tests may have questions designed to force you to refer to the reference materials such as Pub 17 and Pub 4012; however, pdf versions of those documents and other material may help you get where you need to go even if hard copy paper documentation is not available
  3. There are alternative methods to get the training and certification needed depending on your circumstances, and what you have access to, and the knowledge level of the volunteer. Testing and certification to prepare taxes differ from taking a college course in that ultimately what is required is properly filling out tax returns for the community that is served.
  4. Hope this helps. Further comments may be added to the appropriate section at the end of this posting.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Pub 4491-W TaxWise 2008 Answers

Answers for the IRS Link and Learn tests or tests in the workbook to obtain certifications are available through the local IRS office through the local IRS Relationship Manager.

For obvious reasons, it is not provided on-line or in the test booklet.

If you are grading the paper tests and need the answer sheets, you should be able to obtain them from the source described above.

If you are a potential volunteer trying to find out the answers, please note that the test is open book, without strict time limits, and is designed to make you think about the situations enountered in a filling tax returns. The situations you encounter when doing taxes may be more complicated than those in the test. If you are unable, unwilling, or do not have the time to look up the answers to questions in the available training material and reference documents, but pass the exam by using the answer sheet, how confident and comfortable would you feel when working with a taxpayer? You may want to rethink your decision to volunteer and the time commitment required.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Online course study guide

e-mail from David

Dear Sir,
    Iam a VITA volunteer with Americorps and Iam
Doing the online Intro course. Is there a workbook
To go along with the course. I would find it easier to learn with a
study guide. The IRS courses are
Good but I would like a study guide. How many
Times can you repeat the test if you aren't successful the first time.

         David xxxxxx  
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Answer
  • Congratulations on taking the initiative to find the study guide
  • The material that comes along with both in-class and online training are produced in hardcopy format and available from local office in charge of VITA
  • However, copies of the material are available in pdf format by searching in the IRS web site, calling the IRS toll-free number at 1-800-829-1040, going to http://www.vita-volunteers.org/Training_Material/Tax_Preparation_Volunteer_Training.htm
  • Hope this helps!