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VITA ASSISTANCE APPLICATION

VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA) PROGRAM

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is an initiative by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that offers free tax preparation services to

  • People who generally make $60,000 or less
  • Persons with disabilities; and
  • Limited English-speaking taxpayers

VITA volunteers, who are trained by the IRS, help taxpayers complete and file their tax returns accurately.

WHO IS VITA FOR?

This program aims to assist low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited English proficient individuals who may find it challenging to navigate the tax filing process. By utilizing VITA services, taxpayers can ensure that they maximize their tax credits and refunds while meeting their tax obligations. It’s a valuable resource that promotes financial stability and empowerment for underserved communities.

VITA APPLICATION

Affiliate with WEN on this Project

VITA VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

APPLY TO VOLUNTEER
  1. Scroll down to complete your application
  2. Once we receive your application, a WEN rep will contact you to share the next steps
  3. We need more volunteers, so please feel free to forward this email to your circle of friends or anyone who might be interested
  4. Please note that prior to the tax season, we may organize community Q & A sessions to present this program to your church, organization, association, etc. in preparation for the Jan 2025 tax session, so be on standby for an invite or ask how we may present to your group.

BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT HERE

CLICK TO VIEW BOOKING PAGE

DONATE TO THE WEN VITA PROGRAM

DONATE TO HELP WEN ASSIST MANY

WEN was certified and set up by the IRS in 2024 to prepare taxes for taxpayers who make 64,000 or less, disabled, and elderly. In the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia metropolitan area, WEN is one of the organizations that have included VITA as one of our services.

“The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs, run by volunteer organizations nationwide and administered by the IRS through its Stakeholder Partnerships, Education & Communication (SPEC) office, are vital to many American citizens who need to file their federal and state tax returns each year. These programs help millions of low-to-moderate income taxpayers accurately prepare and file their tax returns for free with help from IRS-certified volunteers”. (https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/tax-volunteers-support-taxpayers-in-need).

Our volunteers came from far distances, such as Gaithersburg, Waldorf, Upper Marlboro, on weekdays and weekends, as well as virtually, preparing taxes for taxpayers at no cost to them.  Over 30% of the taxpayers were residents of Laurel and a significant number of them were elderly. Currently, there are only 3 IRS VITA sites, including ours, in the 55-mile radius of DMV from zip code 20707 and of those sites, taxpayers have shared that we are the only site taking calls and willing to prepare free taxes across the DMV. 

We are grateful for the opportunity IRS offered us by IRS to assist low-income taxpayers, but we are running out of resources that might cripple us from completing the tax season for 2024, which lasts till Oct. The volume of calls is still very high, and we are doing our best to work with taxpayers. While we have a week and five days left to end the tax season, the number of those who filed extensions in April are still significant and it would be nice to at least help them complete their taxes. 

In addition, from our experience, there are many taxpayers, especially the elderly, the disabled, the widowed, etc., who seriously need guidance on where to find the required documentation they need to provide to us to file their tax returns. We are dedicated to helping but we need the manpower and funding to provide significant and meaningful assistance to your constituents and non-constituents.