[Anonymous]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to get someone’s perspective about volunteering for VITA (especially first-timers) and the process involved with it. Yes, I did read prior posts about the program but I also have several questions to ask:

When is the period to volunteer? Feb to April only?

If I’m not need until next year, will I be required to undergo some sort of training? I did pass the CPA exam so I think that should help me bypass some tests. However, If I won’t start until next year, I’m afraid I’ll forget what I learned from recently passing REG. I don’t have any prior tax experience.

How important is it to speak a second language? I live in a diverse area of NJ. I would say I have intermediate fluency in my second language but definitely would not be able to communicate professionally in the second language.

[taxgeek83]

1) Period to volunteer depends on your local site. I would say the majority run from about February to April, but I have heard of some being open year-round.

2) There are two general exams that you have to pass – Basic and Advanced. You can also get a Military or International certification. The exams are pretty easy – VITA volunteers are limited in the scope of returns that they can prepare, so you won't see things like farm income, rental income, depreciation, etc. Schedule C returns are pretty limited as well (or at least they were a couple of years ago).

3) The exams have to be passed every year, no matter who you are or what certifications you have.

4) No prior tax experience necessary! I had one 200 level tax class under my belt when I volunteered my first year, and was successfully running the site by the next year. Like I said before, the scope of returns that you will be allowed to prepare at a VITA site is pretty limited, and the materials they give out every year have some pretty good flow charts to help you through any “I'm not sure” moments. In addition, your site will likely have experienced volunteers helping to prep and review returns, so they will be able to help you with any questions you have.

5) I would imagine that even intermediate fluency in a second language would be a help! I can't imagine anyone turning down that kind of background, anyway. 🙂

Hope this helps! It's a very rewarding experience, and looks great on a resume. 🙂

[monikernc]

I did VITA 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. Had to pass two levels of cert, basic and advanced. I also did the additional HSA and Cancellation of Debt certs. Worked at a library only 2 days a week while in school. It was great experience and helped me get hired by a CPA to work last tax season. I would do it again after I pass these but prefer to do paid work at this time.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[the LAST Coffee]

Just did the basic exam at my site in Southwest Colorado. Spanish was a bonus but no one needed to know it be be a part of VITA. It's volunteer after all.

All you're doing is really, simple returns. Only allowed to do those with AGI under $52,000 and no depreciation or business losses from Schedule C.

FAR 84 (AUG '15)
BEC 83 (AUG '15)
AUD 79 (OCT '15)
REG 71, 78! (NOV '15, FEB '16)

[confusedcandidate]

I did it for a season and really enjoyed it. I already knew a thing or two about tax, and it sharpened me up. It looked good on the resume when I applied to my first “real” jobs at respectable cpa firms. I could hit the ground running and needed minimal training to start working on easier individual returns – just a little software training.

If I weren't crazy busy and slammed all day every day for ten straight weeks during season, I would definitely do it again. The work was gratifying and I liked helping really poor desperate people. Donating my time and services to make a difference felt a lot more effective than donating a few dollars to a random charity. I'll never forget a few of the people I met and helped while in VITA:

1 – a poor old lady manipulated into cashing out her Ira to give to scammers. I figured out the scam, contacted her family, got them to get POA over her affairs, and got the Ira rolled into another institution to avoid a huge penalty

2 – the very first tax return I ever did was for an extremely low income father of several children. Despite his poverty, he was one of the happiest and pleasant people I've ever met. He was counting on his tax refund that year as he has grown to rely on it for several years. (Mostly earned income credit.) The problem was that he didn't have any actual earned income that year, and for whatever reason, he just didn't qualify for EIC. I will never forget his face when I told him he wouldn't be getting much of a refund, if any, that year. His gigantic smile barely shrank, but it changed in complexion and I saw him die inside a little bit. His entire demeanor seemed to shrivel and I saw panic, even though his big smile and jovial expression barely waned. I still think about him quite often, and wonder if he is ok.

3 – a relatively young lady who's father had just died. Her dad was an accountant and he had done her taxes for years. She was quite distraught, and was telling me about him. Then we witnessed a miracle…the lady sitting next to her was an old client of the accountant dad as well. This lady actually had in her purse a letter that the accountant had written to her in which he referenced his daughter. He said in the letter that he wasn't the least bit worried about his daughter, because she is young, healthy, bright, and married a great guy, and said how much he (the dad) loved her. The girl who's father had just died essentially got a message ‘from beyond' and she looked at this lady like she was an angel. I'm an atheist, and I'm not very spiritual, but I know beauty when I see it. It was a profound moment, and tears were shed.

Sorry for the huge post. I highly recommend VITA to accounting students who have time. It's good exposure to tax, will help you with REG, gets you face to face time with ‘clients' which will help in the future…there's really no downside.

Weekends are meaningless to a CPA candidate

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for the awesome feedback.

@confusedcandidate thank you for sharing those personal experiences. I am considering it because of the rewarding experience.

I'm being nitpicky here but my concern about the second language wasn't more about whether I would be accepted or not. From what I'm reading here, it seems it's a lot of face-to-face interaction. My concern is being fluent enough to answer or explain any concerns the client may have. I'm currently not at that level. This won't be a deal breaker for me though. It'll probably motivate me to brush up on those skills.

[Author]

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