Tax Prep Dispatch: The Drop-Off Process

Editor's Note: This edition of the Tax Prep Dispatch was written by Christopher Murphree, Program Director of the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) in Louisville, KY. He has worked with VITA programs for the past four years and believes drop off and virtual VITA services can be a powerful tool for programs and a major convenience for clients.

Drop-off, Virtual VITA and Valet VITA are all different names for an alternative service delivery method that can greatly increase your program’s capacity to serve taxpayers. At drop-off sites, one or more aspects of the tax preparation process take place without the taxpayer present. Drop-off services provide many benefits to both VITA programs and taxpayers, including decreased wait time, increased flexibility for volunteers, and now, limiting in-person contact with clients.

Just like regular VITA services, drop-off services are adaptable based on the needs of your clients, volunteers, and partner sites. You can tailor a policy and develop resources that will work best for your program. When considering establishing a drop-off site, consider both your taxpayers and your volunteers in establishing an effective program.

Drop-Off Considerations

Drop-off and valet services generally operate by retaining documents from taxpayers. It is important to ensure your program has space to securely store any documents you retain. All sites considering implementing drop-off services with return preparation occurring at one or more sites should consider how to securely transfer client documents from one site to another. The Denver Asset Building Coalition uses a site-specific lock-box to transport client documents, and the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona scans and uploads client documents to a secure platform.

You’ll also want to keep all documents for individual returns separated; we recommend placing all retained documents in the IRS provided envelopes (Publication 730), and add the intake date so you can keep track of how long you have held the return. Many programs have developed supplemental intake or sign-in forms to assist with the virtual VITA process.

Additionally, consider how to communicate the drop-off process to clients. Provide as much information as you can on your website and social media pages for clients to review before coming to the site. For sites with appointments, consider reviewing those procedures when clients schedule or when making appointment reminder calls. All clients using drop-off services must consent to the virtual preparation method using Form 14446.

Finally, make sure that you also have multiple ways to get in touch with clients when their return is ready for review or pick-up. You don’t want to call a client, only to find out that they do not have a voicemail box set up or think you are a spam caller. The more points of contact that you have for clients, the better.

About LABC’s Drop-Off Program

The Louisville Asset Building Coalition offers drop-off tax preparation services to Louisville Metro Government Employees. The drop-off site operates by conducting the intake process on-site with the client, preparing and reviewing the return on-site without the client, then having the client come back into the site for the quality review process. Clients sit down with a preparer and review the intake form, and collect all necessary documentation for tax purposes. Since the entire tax preparation process takes place at one location, we are able to secure all client documents in a locked storage container at our main office.

This system has allowed us to serve a new set of taxpayers that traditionally have not used VITA services, and provides flexibility in scheduling volunteers to come in for return preparation or quality review. By working with Louisville Metro Government, we are able to provide a unique benefit to city employees, while serving many taxpayers that have not traditionally used VITA services. HR managers from various departments are also able to send out individualized messages to employees and can work with employees to find a time during the day for taxpayers to schedule their drop-off appointment.

Virtual VITA and COVID-19

Using these drop-off procedures and resources can be a powerful tool for VITA programs given the current public health crisis. However, VITA programs should consider that many drop-off sites still utilize in-person intake and quality review methods. To limit in-person interactions, consider piloting virtual intake or review methods. The Food Bank of NYC and Utah Tax Help have long-established a comprehensive virtual preparation and review system. Code for America is offering a pilot program that makes the entire preparation process virtual called Get Your Refund. Check out their Onboarding Packet to learn more about the program, and how to express interest in participating.

Drop-Off Sites and the VITA Grant

Remember that all aspects of the Quality Site Requirements still apply and that you should communicate any changes to your program offerings with your SPEC relationship manager. Once you establish the general procedures for drop-off and virtual sites, a one to two-page program plan must be submitted to your SPEC Relationship Manager. Per the Publication 4396-A, this program plan should contain the following elements:

Location of the virtual site(s), and their role in the process
Days/hours of operation
Appointment or walk-in site
VSC and tax law certification level (if any) of all volunteers on each end of the process
Brief description of the Virtual VITA/TCE process, including QSR compliance
Description of the document transmittal process between sites
Description of how electronically transmitted data is protected • List of virtual communication software used in the Virtual VITA/TCE process (not including tax prep software such as TaxSlayer)
The approximate number of clients to be served
Acknowledgment that a signed Form 14446 is required of all taxpayers

You can view LABC’s program plan here, and more sample program plans are listed in Publication 4396-A (pages 85-87).

Virtual VITA Resources

TON Alternative Service Delivery Method Page: A comprehensive resource guide with helpful links and explanations for various alternative tax preparation methods. Be sure to email [email protected] with any additional resources!

United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona Valet VITA Toolkit: A comprehensive toolkit of resources dedicated to the drop off program. It also contains VITA specific tutorials for the two programs used to assist with virtual preparation, Zapier and Zendesk.

VITA Resources.Net: Provides a good overview of Valet VITA procedures, and also provides a great summary of recommended scanners other VITA programs have used for their drop off program.

LABC Drop-Off Promo Packet: Our promotional packet that we distribute to Louisville Metro Government Employees. This packet provides a general overview of the drop-off program, and provides a copy of the Intake and Interview Form and Form 14446 for clients to complete before coming to the site.