Vita Volunteers Questions and Answers

Sign in for test?

2012-01-13T18:14:00.001-08:00

I could not get in to do online testing Reset password 7 times still does not allow me in to test

Robert Ellis

Your Elavon Account is about to expire

2012-01-12T14:29:00.000-08:00


Dear Elavon Customer , Your Elavon Account is about to expire. To continue using the myvirtualmerchant portal, your account must be renewed. You may renew your account at no cost by following the steps below. 1. Download the Renewal Request Form attached to this email. 2. Open it in a browser. 3. Follow the instructions on your screen. If your Elavon Account will not be renewed, it will be closed. We hope that Elavon Merchant has been a valuable part of your business. MESSAGE ID : IDQERF4JM3FDD4DS55K25HNSASGJ65L38Q83

Copyright © 2011 Elavon, Inc. All rights reserved.

VITA CERT TESTS

2011-12-21T18:21:00.001-08:00

THE CERT TESTS FOR BASIC, ETC CANNOT BE OPENED.

Forgot my log in ID

2011-12-09T13:44:00.001-08:00

I forgot my log in ID. I thought I knew what it was but it is not
working. I do know my password. I've already taken some of the tests.
Please help.

Confirmation of Registration

2011-06-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

(It's very urgent, Please transfer this e-mail to your CEO or appropriate person, thanks)

Dear CEO/Principal,

We are the department of Asian Domain Registration Service in China. Have something to confirm with you. We formally received an application on June 8,2011, one company which self-styled "Hady Investment Co., Ltd" were applying to register "vita-volunteers" as Net Brand and following domain names:
vita-volunteers.asia
vita-volunteers.cn
vita-volunteers.com.cn
vita-volunteers.com.hk
vita-volunteers.com.tw
vita-volunteers.hk
vita-volunteers.net.cn
vita-volunteers.org.cn
vita-volunteerxs.tw
After our initial checking, we found the name were similar to your company's, so we need to check with you whether your company has authorized that company to register these names. If you authorized this, we will finish the registration at once. If you did not authorize, please let us know within 7 workdays, so that we will handle this issue better. Out of the time limit we will unconditionally finish the registration for "Hady Investment Co., Ltd".

Best Regards,

Leo Pan

Tel: +86-551-5223-174 || Fax: +86-551-5223-175
10/F,Jindi International Building,No.588 MaAnshan South Road, Baohe District,HeFei,China

password

2011-05-25T12:52:00.001-07:00

My user name is Kimberly, but I forgot my pass word, and when I go to the “forgot password” input, it doesn’t work. All I would like is to get a copy of my certificates. Could you please help?

Kim Chartier

Freight Team Co-op
Business Process Services Center-Purchasing
2007 Austin Building/H-39
Midland, MI
989-636-4028
kschartier@dow.com

password not working

2011-02-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,IM INSTRESTED IN TAKING INTERMEDIATE 6744 TEST,BUT MY PASSWORD CONTINUES COMING UP PASSWORD INCORRECT,EVEN THOSE THAT WERE SENT TO MY EMAIL.WHAT CAN I DO TO GAIN ACCESS THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP. ERNEST

2011-01-27T13:03:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon;

I’m a VITA volunteer and I’m trying to log in to do my intermediate test but my password is not working what can I do?

cannot log on

2010-12-24T05:33:00.001-08:00

I wanted to go in and take the advanced certification, but the site is not taking my password. It was taking it previously when I took the basic and intermidiate exams. What can I do?

Cannot sign on to Online test

2010-03-11T12:57:00.001-08:00

I need help immediately . I’ve tried numerous sign ons without success, Please Help!! Desperate!!! Thanks

failed test 1

2010-02-12T14:18:00.001-08:00

How do I get to test 2?

Unable to login

2010-02-12T12:14:00.001-08:00

I just created an account -- Unable to login so I requested a new password. I still can't login.

Please advise.

creating an account

2010-02-07T17:25:00.001-08:00

I have tried to log in. My name was not accepted. I havae tried to create an account and I am told my password does not meet the requirements. What are the requirements?????~!!!!!!

My password works for other accounts.

I need to get on line to take my retest.

Gladys Larem

issues with logging in to take the test

2010-02-04T11:07:00.001-08:00

I created an account about 1 1/2 weeks ago, was able to log in and printed out the test questions. Tried to login today and the system keeps kicking me out because

of the wrong password. When I try to reset the password, I don’t get any emails with the new password.

Please advise.

foriegn student certification exam

2010-02-03T22:28:00.001-08:00

Never mind, I got it. You need to change the group you are in from My Profile.

Foreign Student Link and Learn exam

2010-02-03T22:13:00.001-08:00

Hi,

I'm having difficulty finding the Foreign Student Link and Learn certification exam. I am following the link from the following page: http://www.irs.gov/app/vita/foreign_student_module.html and it brings me to VITA/TCE Certification Tests; however there is no exam for Foreign Student certification.

Please let me know where I can find the exam.

Thanks,
Dennis

VITA Volunteer/Administrator

2010-02-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

I have done this is my 4^th year of doing this. I have created a new account and password and still can not get in even though the account and access was created successfully. I need to certify! Why can I not get in with what was just created?

Sylvie Vatinelle

Community Services Manager

California Human Development

3315 Airway Dr.

Santa Rosa, CA 95403

sylvie.vatinelle@chdcorp.org
Direct Line: 707-521-4720

Phone: 707-523-1155
Fax: 707-523-3776

Celebrating 40 years of creating opportunities for farmworkers

Mike has problem with Link & Learn PasswordFwd: Link & Learn Password

2010-01-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

The followig message was sent to the webmaster by Mike xxxxxx.:

I am a returning tax volunteer and have been having a problem with my
password. It worked on Jan. 3, 2010 but did not work the next time I tried
to log in. I then requested another password (several times actually) and
have not received another password. It has been approximately 24 hours since
my last attempt.
Could you assist me with this matter? My username is xxxxxxxx.

Mike xxxxxx

Mary needs information on starting a free income tax preparation...

2009-10-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

Subject: Program at my Church

I am interest in starting a free tax income preparation for low income family at my church this year. Is there any information how I can get help setting this program up. What are the criteria for starting a site under VITA program. Please advise me and let me know how to go about accomplishing this . My phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx or e-mail xxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.com. Thank you in advance for your help.

Mary xxxxxx

--------------------------------------------

The above email was sent to webmaster@vita-volunteers.org . Although this response is not provided by the IRS, the answer is provided here in the hope that it may help others with similar objectives.

Dear Mary,

Your interest in setting up a center to help low income families prepare their income tax returns is commendable. The VITA program is sponsored by the IRS in conjunction with the state income tax authority, and usually run out of an office of one of these organizations. As a site coordinator I work closely with the SPEC Relationship Manager at my local IRS office. When I first started volunteering at VITA, I was a preparer at an established site, and site coordinator at another small site. I recently had the opportunity to start a new site during the off-season, so my experience is pretty recent, and it was a successful launch simply because of the supporting structure.

The IRS provides publication 1084, IRS Volunteer Coordinator's Handbook which is a guide and a checklist of activities to running a site successfully. The 2008 Tax Year version is the latest one available at the time this is written, and it is expected that the 2009 Tax Year version will be available soon. You can download a copy of it from the IRS web site or from http://www.vita-volunteers.org/info_for_coordinators.htm which has some additional publications that may help. However, while it is it detailed and comprehensive, a first look may be intimidating the first time you look through it. So if you are trying to start a new site, there are several pieces that have to be coordinated and fall in place. One way is to sign up to be a VITA tax volunteer for the first season while you become familiar with the system and the support you can expect.

If you do want to get started either as a volunteer or as a coordinator, the most practical way is to sign up through http://www.vita-volunteers.org online signup form and indicate your interest in the comments section. The information is forwarded to VITA Headquarters, from which it makes its way to the IRS Office and the SPEC Relationship Manager who should try to get in touch with you. You need to provide the name of the site, and the dates and times all that is required is the name of the site and the days, dates and times it is expected to be open. This will get your site onto the IRS database of VITA sites so that taxpayers looking for the service can be referred to your site, and will help provide a site identification number with which to apply for an EFIN (Electronic Filing Identification Number) - which is necessary if you plan to offer electronic filing of tax returns.

Of course, when the taxpayers come to the site you must be prepared for them. You will need support from the place where you plan to offer the service, such as the Church which needs to provide the environment in which to function, and to offer a place for taxpayers to sign in, wait and be served.

Arrangements must be made for laptops or PCs to run Tax Preparation software and printers. The IRS loans some equipment, and the rest are provided by volunteers, the hosting organization, or a third party such as the United Way.

You need to recruit volunteers for the site. Volunteers may come from the IRS, non profit organizations, accounting students, or possibly from among the members of the Church where you plan to provide the services. Regardless of the source of volunteers, they have to be certified by taking an open book test either on paper or online. Experienced tax professionals and returning volunteers should have no problem with the certification test and there are training classes offered for volunteers new to the tax preparation activity.

If you are planning to offer services for anything beyond the simplest returns, it is necessary to get trained in the tax preparation software - hand-preparing returns on paper forms and using calculators to add, subtract and multiply numbers and making sure that nothing is overlooked can be very challenging.

If you have the place, equipment and volunteers, you need to get clients or taxpayers to help. That means appropriate publicity in addition to the listing in the IRS database. There needs to be an information number for people calling in for details of the service - and that is best handled by someone who is available to answer the phone. You need to decide whether to take only walk-in taxpayers, or to take appointments or both. Whichever way it is, balance is important. If there are too many volunteers and not enough taxpayers, volunteers will lose their enthusiasm. If there are too many taxpayers needing service and not enough volunteers, you need to deal with irate and impatient taxpayers.

If this is something you think you will enjoy doing, I encourage you to go for it - it may be time consuming but the feeling of accomplishment will be worth it. If you are unable to spare that much time to the project, the better course may be to sign up as a tax volunteer.

If you have any further thoughts or comments, you may put it in the comments section, and the answers will be provided here.

Best wishes for a successful tax season.

Webmaster

vita-volunteers.org

Joseph is finding it difficult to contact SPEC

2009-06-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

To whom it may concern,

My name is Joseph xxxxx and I am currently a Junior at Yeshiva University in New York. I am an accounting major with experience in the accounting field, specifically tax returns. I am very interested in getting involved in VITA and becoming a volunteer but I am not exactly sure how to do so. I tried filling out the online form several times but I was never contacted.

Also, I am the president of the college's accounting society and I am very interested in planning either and event or a program with you. There are many students who would definitely be interested in getting involved and I was wondering if you could use any of there help. This could be a one day program to help you guys out in anything you need, or a long term program to become VITA volunteers.

Please get back to me as soon as you have a chance because I am extremely interested in getting involved.

Thank you.

All the best,

Joseph xxxxxx

-----------------------------------

Answer from webmaster@vita-volunteers.org

Dear Joseph,

It is refreshing to see an enthusiastic volunteer willing to set up a VITA site, and following up when you are not getting a response.

According to the email and registration records, you made enquiries on 3/29/2009, 4/19/2009 and 4/23/2009 which was forwarded to VITA headquarters. Usually the vita-volunteers.org webmaster ignores such requests, leaving it to the national office to respond, but your determination to volunteer and your leadership qualities in wanting to start a new site is my personal opinion a good reason to respond publicly so that others with this question may also respond.

Vita-volunteers.org is run by a dedicated volunteer and site coordinator in the Santa Clara County, Ca which is close to San Francisco, and the purpose is to help volunteers in the local area sign up to volunteer. It was developed in conjunction with an enlightened Relationship manager who saw the value of getting online signups that could be directed by email immediately, since trying to find out how to volunteer was such a challenge.

However, soon many volunteers were signing up through the site, and the information directed to the Santa Clara County Relationship manager was not something that could be dealt with at the local level. Since the webmaster was a problem solver interested in helping out volunteers rather than deal with the bureaucracy, the practical solution was to direct those queries were directed to the VITA national office from which it was routed to the appropriate Territory Manager for action. It seemed a little silly to route it that way manually when the location of the volunteer was known, but contacting the National VITA office for the names of sites, site coordinators, Relationship managers and Territory resulted in the response that any queries should be directed to the National office.

A simple search on the web provided contact information on Territory Managers; since this information is supposed to be only for potential volunteers and coordinators who want to offer their services, but not to provide to individual taxpayers, I have extracted the names of the territory managers in New York State and presened them here for your reference in case you would like to contact them directly. If you are interested in the Territory Manager of a different state, please indicate by adding a comment to this posting. The contacts are as follows:

Albany Peter Stevens 518-427-4109 Peter.J.Stevens@irs.gov

Buffalo Peter Stevens 518-427-4109 Peter.J.Stevens@irs.gov

New York City Michael McCormick 212-436-1031 Michael.J.McCormick@irs.gov

The date of this information is not known, but there is also a listing of IRS offices in New York City which could be obtained through searching on the VITA Volunteers Custom Search Engine II on the website. As of April 17, 2009, here is the listing information.

City	Street Address	Days/Hours of Service	Telephone*
Albany	Clinton Ave. & N. Pearl St. Albany, NY 12207	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(518) 427-4250
Binghamton	49 Court St. Binghamton, NY 13901	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(607) 721-0338
Bronx	1200 Waters Place Bronx, NY 10461	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(212) 436-1000
Brooklyn	625 Fulton St. Brooklyn, NY 11201	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(718) 488-2068
Buffalo	130 South Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14202	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(716) 961-5100
Elmira	149 West Gray St. Elmira, NY 14901	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(607) 767-1012
Garden City	107 Charles Lindbergh Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(516) 683-5169
Hauppauge	1180 Veterans Memorial Hwy. Hauppauge, NY 11788	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(631) 851-4726
Jamestown	E. 3rd St. & Prendergast Ave., Jamestown, NY 14701	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon) Services Provided	(716) 961-5100
Kingston	153 Sawkill Rd. Kingston, NY 12401	Monday - Thursday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(845) 339-5384
New Windsor	300 Commerce Dr. New Windsor, NY 12553	Monday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(845) 561-8990
New York (Harlem)	55 W. 125th St. New York, NY 10027	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(212) 436-1000
New York (Downtown)	290 Broadway New York, NY 10007	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(212) 436-1000
New York (Midtown)	110 W. 44th St. New York, NY 10036	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(212) 436-1000
Poughkeepsie	191 Main St. Poughkeepsie, NY 12601	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch on Mondays 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(845) 452-2220
Queensbury	375 Bay Rd. Queensbury, NY 12804	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(518) 798-6047
Rego Park	59-17 Junction Blvd., Rego Park, NY 11368	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(718) 760-6019
Riverhead	518 E. Main St. Riverhead, NY 11901	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(631) 851-4726
Rochester	255 E. Ave. Rochester, NY 14604	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(585) 263-5840
Staten Island	10 Richmond Ter. Staten Island, NY 10301	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(212) 436-1000
Syracuse	100 S. Clinton St. Syracuse, NY 13261	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(315) 448-0807
Utica	10 Broad St. Utica, NY 13501	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed for lunch 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Services Provided	(315) 793-1952
West Nyack	242 W. Nyack Rd. West Nyack, NY 10994	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(845) 627-1487
White Plains	210 E. Post Rd. White Plains, NY 10601	Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services Provided	(914) 684-7302

The source url is http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/article/0,,id=98318,00.html

It is not clear where in the process of sending out emails there was a breakdown in communication, so the practical action to take is to call the appropriate offices to get the appropriate information. Please get back to the blog to document your results, even if there is no action, so I can try to find who else can provide the information.

If you would like to add your experiences to this blog, it may help other interested volunteers reduce the amount of frustration they feel at not being able to volunteer.

The information contained here was obtained through publicly available sources that came up through a search engine which has not been verified. The accuracy can and should be verified with the IRS, but it is provided as a starting point.

Best wishes,

Webmaster@Vita-volunteers.org

How to find my login and password for VITA Certification site

2009-03-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Mary sent the following email to webmaster at vita-volunteers.org:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir,

I hope you can help me. I took the VITA Certification tests, just completed the Intermediate level 2 nights ago and scored a 95. I did not get to print my certificate that night. I logged on tonite but forgot my password. I asked for a new password to be sent to me but I cannot locate it. It is possible that I had keyed in my e-mail address incorrectly when I signed up.

My name is Mary xxxxx xxxxxx(I may have set up my account as xxxxx xxxxx). My user ID is "xxxxxxx" and I thought my password was "xxxxx" but that did not work. Here are my e-mail addresses:

xxxxxxx1@aol.com
xxxxxxx2@aol.com
xxxxxxx3@aol.com
xxxxxxx4@aol.com
xxxxxxx5@gmail.com

I did not get the new password I requested on any of these e-mail addresses. Please help me locate my certificate as I am volunteering at a mobile VITA location this coming Monday.

Sincerely,

Mary xxxxx xxxxxx
Winston-Salem, NC
------------

Answer:

Mary, sorry to hear you are having troubles. I can sense the frustration you are having, but unfortunately the link and learn site is not under the control of the vita-volunteers.org webmaster. It appears to be under the control of an entity at webtechteam.com whose only email address I have is nobody (at) webtechteam.com which is a send only address and as the messages say, will not read any emails sent to it. Vita-volunteers.org was put up because the webmaster was having the kinds of difficulties you and others are having when trying to volunteer!

Here are some ways to solve the problem:
a) find your local IRS office and contact the SPEC Relationship manager or the Territory manager and ask for help
b) call the IRS Toll-Free, Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time)
c) if you need help in locating the local IRS office, you may be able to get help from the search engine at http://www.vita-volunteers.org/custom_search_engine_ii.htm
d) a final option is to fill in the registration form at http://www.vita-volunteers.org/2009_Online/2009_OnlineReg_nonSCC.htm as best as you can, and put your problem in the comment section. That information will get e-mailed to VITA headquarters and then forwarded to the appropriate Territory Manager.

Hope this helps! If there are any further questions, or if you find the answer, please add it to the comments at the end of the post. You do not need to provide an email address to post if you do not wish to do so.

Comments on Basic Level Certification for VITA Volunteers

2009-02-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

There were at least 2 questions on the test for certification level that I feel reflects the distance in thinking of the people setting the exams from what is happening in the field.

The first has to do with the question about what to do if a taxpayer is unable to have sufficient funds in the checking account to pay the outstanding taxes. The correct answers include putting the charge on a credit card, setting up an installment payment, or suggesting paying through the savings account. In my judgement, the most helpful answer is the second one (setting up an installment payment) followed by advising the taxpayer to increase the withholding for the current year or sending in estimated payments as they receive the money. The first and third suggests a lack of sensitivity - credit card payments including not only a convenience fee, but also transaction fees and high interest rate, and if the taxpayer had a savings account with money, they probably would know better than to suggest this in the first place.

The second has to do with the form number required for splitting the refund into multiple accounts at financial institutions. As a site coordinator, I have found that to get in the information about financial institutions correctly for one account is very time consuming to get right, so doing it for 3 would be even more time consuming and prone to error, and require even more quality review time. While it may be convenient for the taxpyer to have it deposited in multiple accounts directly, how difficult would it be for the taxpayer to transfer from the original refund from one account into multiple accounts. I consider this form as nice to have, but not essential, and do not go out of my way to encourage its use, but while remembering the number of the form accurately may be a competency required of revenue officers, it does seem to have less value than some other training that would be of greater help to the taxpayers we are serving.

These are one person's opinion, and represents one perspective. No doubt you may disagree, and your views are welcome as comments to this post.

Will you do my 2009 Tax Return?

2009-02-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

Question received by email:

I am 21 years old, full time student, part time work. Will you do my 2009 Tax Return? I live in Nassau County, New York.

Bxxxxxxx

----------------
Answer: I will personally do your tax return if you will travel to my site in California! I imagine you are talking about your tax return for 2008 due on April 15, 2009. (We won't be doing 2009 returns until approximately a year from now.) Failing that, there may be VITA sites close to where you live where they could do your taxes, unless you make too much money or your return is complicated. One way to find the locations is to search in the VITA Volunteers Search Engine II at the top left hand corner below the banner of this page. If there are no suitable locations, the results page will provide more hints on where to find their locations.

Where to get Pub 4491-W 2008 Exercise Answers?

2009-01-22T01:41:00.001-08:00

The answers to the exercises (not the certification test) can be obtained by going to the http://www.irs.gov website. A copy of it, more instructions on the practice lab, and changes/additions to training material are available at
http://www.vita-volunteers.org/Training_Material/Tax_Preparation_Volunteer_Training.htm

Do I need CTEC Certification to become a VITA Volunteer?

2009-01-21T00:41:00.000-08:00

The answer is NO, you do not need to be CTEC Certified in order to do taxes as a VITA Volunteer.

On the other hand, being certified to do prepare and file taxes does not qualify you to become a paid tax preparer in California. Requirements for becoming CTEC Certified and becoming a paid preparer can be found at http://www.vita-volunteers.org/Become_a_Paid_Tax_Preparer.htm

Even if you are qualified to do taxes for money, you need to pass your certification as a VITA Volunteer for each season to do taxes. No IFs, ANDs, BUTs or WHAT IFs!! If you want to prepare taxes as a VITA Volunteer, you MUST currently be certified.

TaxWise Collaboration

2009-01-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

Andy sent the following message to the webmaster at www.vita-volunteers.org

------------------------------------------
Hello,

I am working with our local folks to configure TaxWise in the most reliable and easy to maintain manner. I was wondering whether anyone at your organization has implemented TaxWise using Windows Terminal Services… it would certainly simplify the process and allow use of additional computers with ease.

Do you or someone you know have any insight into this?

Sincerely,

Andy xxxxx
----------------------------------------

Answers:

Dear Andy,

No, we haven't tried using TaxWise with Windows Terminal Services, and do not know if it is supported. That is something that TaxWise support should be able to answer.
There are cases when a networked version of TaxWise can be installed on a central server which exports the volume on which TaxWise is installed, and client computers can then connect to it across a LAN. In fact, in one of the sites, that is the arrangement for a network that is set up and taken apart each session.
At one time, I personally set up a network behind a firewall to which people could log in and see the screen but the Taxwise ran as a client machine on the internal LAN. I have used logmein successfully for this purpose.
Another option for what you are trying to do (which I think is being able to connect remotely) is to use TaxWise Online so that users can use the UTS servers to save their returns. However, this has all the advantages and disadvantages of a browser based application.

Hope this helps. Further comments may be added to the end of this posting and will be answered.

Problems logging in to LinkLearn website

2009-01-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

Valerie sent the following message to the webmaster of http://www.vita-volunteers.org

I received the following e-mail from your office:
Valerie xxxxx,

Your account has been created in the LMS.

Login: Kxxxxxx3
Password: Sxxxxxx

Please save this message.http://linklearn.webtechteam.com/

I am still unable to log in. What do I need to do?

Valerie xxxxx

------------------
Answer:

Valerie, sorry to hear you are having troubles. I can sense the frustration you are having, but unfortunately the link and learn site is not under the control of the vita-volunteers.org webmaster. Vita-volunteers.org was put up because the webmaster was having the kinds of difficulties you and others are having when trying to volunteer!
However, just to check it out, I tried logging in with your login and password at 11:42 pm Pacific Time on Jan 7, 2009, and was successful.
One thing to check would be to make sure that your web browser has javascript enables and has cookies enabled. That should be fairly easy to do.
If you still cannot get it to work, here are some places to try getting help:

a) find your local IRS office and contact the SPEC Relationship manager or the Territory manager and ask for help
b) call the IRS Toll-Free, 1-800-829-1040 Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time)
c) if you need help in locating the local IRS office, you may be able to get help from the search engine at http://www.vita-volunteers.org/custom_search_engine_ii.htm
d) a final option is to fill in the registration form at http://www.vita-volunteers.org/2009_Online/2009_OnlineReg_nonSCC.htm as best as you can, and put in the problems you are having in the comment section. That information will get e-mailed to VITA headquarters and then forwarded to the appropriate Territory Manager.

Hope this helps! If there are any further questions, or if you find the answer, please add it to the comments at the end of the post. You do not need to provide an email address to post if you do not wish to do so.

Re: VITA Intro and Intermediate course

2009-01-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

This was an email message received by the webmaster of http://www.vita-volunteers.org
---------------

I did the beginers course self study using thetext books and completed the test. Should ISend in the hardcopy for evaluation or could Iuse the online test. What I'm asking are theOnline test questions the same as the textbook questions? It is a very interesting course. I Especially enjoy the book keeping work.

----------------
Answer:

The online test questions are close to and similar to the paper test but not the same.
You can do either one. However, if you sign up online and take the exam on-line you can get the results right away, and get a certificate printout right away and have yourself registered is some database. Not clear who has access to the database since so far the local IRS Relationship Manager does not seems to have access to it, and volunteers have to take their certifications to the Site Coordinator anyway.
If you do the paper test and send it in, then you need to figure out where to send it and wait for the grade. This works best if you are in classroom training and take a test at the end.
Hope this answers your questions. If you need to continue this conversation, you can add to this post by clicking on the Comment below this message.

question about the VITA online certification tests

2009-01-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

Email from Angela..

Hello,
I found this e-mail address at http://vita-volunteers.org after having called the IRS and having had no luck finding an answer to this question. I'm a 2nd year VITA volunteer who passed the basic online test last year when I was an Americorps volunteer in Burlington, VT. This year I'm in North Carolina and would like to volunteer again. However, I can't sign in to retrieve the test results from last year because I forgot the login information. The program tells me to enter in my business e-mail address so as to reset my password, but that e-mail account no longer exists. What should I do, or whom should I contact?

Thank you for any help you can provide,
Angela xxxxx
--------

Answer:

Congratulations on wanting to volunteer again. Your effort and enthusiasm is what makes it worthwhile maintaining the web.
Yet, it seems almost impossible to find out information about what to do and who to contact with questions even from the IRS.
The practical solution is to re-register again with your current email and new password and not worry about last year's results - which would keep track of your scores only, and not the test answers.
If it is important to get access to your previous year's results, then it may be necessary to pursue this further. Some avenues to try include the Territory Manager in your area or the Relationship Manager.

College Credit for passing tax certification?

2008-12-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

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

---------------------
Answers:

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.
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
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.
Hope this helps. Further comments may be added to the appropriate section at the end of this posting.

Pub 4491-W TaxWise 2008 Answers

2008-12-21T01:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Online course study guide

2008-12-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

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
--

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!

volunteer training courses‏

2008-11-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

e-mail from Benjy

Hi,
I'm not sure if you are the right person to contact, but I found the http://www.vita-volunteers.org/ site searching for VITA volunteer trainings in Westchester County, NY. I'm not really sure why San Jose is the only place with a webiste about this, but I'm glad you have one.

I was wondering if you knew of how to find out about trainings here. The only listings I could find were for the beginning of this past year.

Thanks.
Benjy xxxxxxx

Answer:

Thanks for your interest in VITA and helping others.
The website was created by a Site Coordinator in Santa Clara County, in which San Jose is located, after finding out for himself how difficult it was to get information about volunteering for VITA.
Your mail was automatically forwarded to the VITA national office, from which it should be forwarded to the appropriate Territory Manager, and eventually you should get a reply.
If you do not get a reply in a week, I suggest that you send your enquiry again. The webmaster of vita-volunteers.org has no other way of finding out if and when the query was handled.

Please sign me up as a VITA Volunteer

2008-10-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

email from Pucharee

Hi,
My name is Pucharee xxxxxx. I used to be a volunteer for VITA program before. I want to sign up to be a volunteer. for this year again. Please sign me up and let me know that I'm in. Please e-mail me (xxxxxx@sbcglobal.net) or call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you very much
Pucharee xxxxxxx

Answer:

Thanks you for your renewed interest in VITA and helping others
Instructions for signing up to be a volunteer are available by going to http://www.vita-volunteers.org/
You can provide your information and contact number
The information will be forwarded to the National VITA office which will direct it to the IRS office serving your location
The webmaster is not unable to sign you up or let you know if you are in.

What is next step after sign-up through VITA-volunteers.org?

2008-09-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Question from Dragica:

Hello,
I would like to volunteer tax preparation in my city West Palm Beach FL 33409. What should I do, please?
I have filled out some application online. What is the next step? What about the training sites and dates?
Thank you for helping me out.
Sincerely,
Dragica