HONOLULU — The IRS is looking for Hawai‘i volunteers to train for the upcoming filing season to provide free tax help.
Last year in Hawai‘i, more than 500 residents gave back to their communities as volunteers who provided free tax services by preparing more than 10,500 federal and state individual-income-tax returns.
“This is an invaluable way to support your community,” said David Tucker II, IRS spokesperson.
”The IRS and its partners are looking for volunteers interested in taking a little time to learn about taxes and then helping others prepare federal-income-tax returns for free. People of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to volunteer,” he said.
For over 50 years, the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs have offered free tax preparation to people with low-to-moderate income who need help preparing their own tax returns.
This includes people with disabilities and senior citizens. Many sites are also able to assist individuals for whom English is a second language. During the 2019 filing season, volunteers helped prepare over 3.5 million returns at thousands of tax sites nationwide.
Volunteering can be exciting, educational and enjoyable, Tucker said. Bilingual volunteers are particularly needed. Here are a few good reasons to consider signing up to help:
• No previous experience required;
• IRS provides free online tax-law training;
• Tax professionals (enrolled agents and accountants) can earn CPE credits;
• Flexible volunteer hours;
• Various volunteer locations.
Free training is available, with classroom training generally offered November through January.
The instruction and training materials cover how to prepare individual-income-tax returns, both federal and state, and how to file them electronically. More information about the IRS volunteer tax preparation programs is available at IRS.gov, keywords: tax volunteer.
