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.

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.

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  
--

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

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

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?

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

Answer:

• Your information is forwarded to the National Office of VITA.
• From there it is routed to the IRS office which is most appropriate for your city.
• The appropriate message will also go to the IRS relationship manager
• A copy of the question that you provided is also going to the National Office of VITA
• If you do not get an answer in a week, alternative steps to take are a) resend the information again b) contact your local IRS office c) try the IRS toll free number 1-800-829-1040.
• As to the dates and training times, these are determined by VITA in the local IRS office.

Hope this answers your questions. Please feel fee to add a comment to this post, and if there are any additional questions, it will be answered here.

Where to get VITA Documents?

Question from Buzz:
How, where can I order the print versions for VITA training e.g.
Publications 678, 678-W, 4012, 6744, 4555.

Answer:

• If you are a site coordinator, you should get in touch with your local IRS office with the SPEC Relationship Manager to order the appropriate material and get it put through the system. There seems to be a new process this year where you fill up the order form and email it, and it gets approved by appropriate manager
• If you are a volunteer tax preparer or instructor, you need to ask your site coordinator, or call toll-free 1-800-829-1040.
• If you are part of the IRS, the best thing is to call toll free 1-800-829-1040.

Hope this answers the question. Otherwise please feel free to add a comment to this post, and it will be answered here.