VITA Volunteer Newsletter

Week of February 25th, 2022

Your weekly resource for tax tips, important dates, and other news of note

from the VITA staff!

Tax Updates

Hi volunteers! Thanks for all of your efforts - now that sites and remote volunteering are rolling, we hope you are enjoying starting to work on more returns and interact with taxpayers. The public - and us! - are so appreciative of the work you have been putting in.

Some notes for this week...

Logging Hours

The VITA program relies on funding from the IRS, which is directly related to the number of service hours provided by all VITA volunteers.
Please make sure that you log ALL your volunteer hours either in the Volunteer Log available at all physical VITA sites or, for volunteers working remotely, using this link: https://forms.office.com/r/dg0XcRynNw
The information collected through this form will be used to document those hours. Thank you for helping us maximize VITA funding by capturing everyone’s service hours accurately!

Hub Ticket Update

We have doubled our number of accepted returns from last week - great job, team! And while we are currently seeing a lack of tickets, we expect things to pick up soon.
Amado Food Bank opened as an intake-only site on Thursday, Feb 24th, 2022. These tickets ARE available for you to work on.
Pima County Mobile Pop-up Sites will now be accepting walk-ins as well as by appointment. This should lead to an increase of tickets to work on. Next dates are on March 1st and 2nd at Kino One Stop at 2797 E. Ajo Way.
Just a reminder that Ward III, Goodwill-GJC, and Northland Tax Assistance all work on their own returns in the Hub, so please do not work on tickets assigned to these sites.

Urgent Reminder for Hub

Only returns listed under “United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona” in the Organization column should be prepared under the TaxSlayer login name ending in -vv!!!
All other Organization names require different login credentials. Please see the VITA Volunteer Handbook (unitedwaytucson.org/vita/links), pages 6-8 for more guidance.
That said, here’s a word of CAUTION: It has recently been noticed that other Organization names may revert to the United Way name upon opening the ticket; that is a system ERROR, and GYR has been notified.
Please note that even though a ticket’s organization may inadvertently change to the United Way name, the return must still be prepared under the original Organization name of the ticket!

Equipment Support

Struggling to view tax documents, the Hub, and other windows all on one computer screen? United Way has plenty of additional monitors available to make virtual tax prep a little easier on your eyes!
Check out our equipment rental form to learn about what is available - we are happy to offer a few tools to help your prep-from-home process be a little smoother: https://forms.office.com/r/dBceGyWERV

Virtual Volunteer Questions

The 'General Questions' channel on Microsoft Teams is available for virtual volunteers who have questions while working on tax returns.
Give this channel a look to see other questions coming up for virtual volunteers and to weigh in on questions you may be able to help with. United Way staff also check in on this channel regularly to assist with complicated questions.

Volunteer Resources

VITALinks has long been our primary webpage for volunteer tax resources - it's your one-stop reference for tax preparation guides and tools. Resources will be added to VITALinks as the tax season gets going - check out the following links in the meantime:

- VITALinks: https://unitedwaytucson.org/vita/links/
- 4012 - VITA/TCE Resource Guide for 2021 Returns (digital copy)
- 6744 - Volunteer Assistor's Test/Retest for 2021 Returns (digital copy)
- 4491 - Volunteer Training Guide for 2021 (digital copy)

VITA Promotion

United Way staff continue to spread the word about VITA to the community. In the past few weeks, that effort has included presentations to donor partners, home visitors working with families of young children, and about 30 nonprofit partners engaged in case management and financial education across Southern Arizona. Here are a few key messages we have been sharing to highlight the importance of VITA this year:

---------

It’s tax season again, and this year, filing is especially important: the American Rescue Plan expanded eligibility and maximum amounts for certain tax credits, including the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For families with children, the 2021 CTC is $3,000-$3,600. And this year, for the first time, the EITC can be worth up to $1,500 for some workers without children – nearly triple the amount it was in 2020. (You can learn more about changes to CTC and EITC, including eligibility, on the ChildTaxCredit.gov page.)

People with incomes below the filing requirement amount may not think it’s worth it to file their taxes. However, not filing means they could be missing out on CTC and EITC. For example:

Families without any income at all can qualify for CTC payments. And even if they have received advanced CTC payments (the monthly payments that came at the end of 2021), the only way to receive the entire CTC amount they are eligible for is to file.
Another example: if people have any earned income at all – even $1 – that income qualifies them for consideration for EITC.

So even if someone is not required to file, it is definitely recommended that they do so – filing ensures that they receive those CTC and EITC credits (plus any others!) if they qualify.

Our VITA webpage includes full information about necessary documents, FAQs, and how to book an appointment. You can also find information about workshops, pop-up Valet sites with Pima County, and location information there. That page will be updated with the most accurate information (particularly amid COVID-19 changes).

Learn more about VITA options for 2022, including in-person locations and how to book an appointment: 2022 VITA Webpage

Help spread the word: Access the electronic version of the 2022 VITA Flyer

United Way of Tucson Updates

United Way of Tucson is working to build a thriving community by uniting people, ideas, and resources. We envision a community where every child receives a high-quality education from birth to career, every adult has the opportunity to thrive financially and in the workplace and every older person can retire and age with dignity and independence. From birth to career, career to retirement, and retirement to end of life, United Way supports the well-being and success of every person in Southern Arizona.

Video Content from Million Stories Media

United Way of Tucson has teamed up with the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship to share valuable content focused on financial wellness. Million Stories, a project of the Singleton Foundation, is on a mission to make community members more financially competent. Their platform includes a host of entertaining videos and programming designed to share stories, lessons and information about personal finance. For example, their Your Brain on Money series features experts in the fields of neuroscience and behavioral finance discussing the psychology and biology behind how we think about money.

One video of note: Playing Games Could Make You Rich — Science Proves It explores the brain science behind saving and profiles a gaming company using that science to change people’s habits. Given its ties to social media and online shopping, this video could be an especially good addition to anyone discussing finances with youth or young adults.