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Dear John,

The official first day of summer is right around the corner! But the cicadas are already here. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be looking forward to the eventual departure of Brood X. In the meantime, under the constant din of flapping wings, let’s take a moment to dive into the happenings at TON.

Our End of Season survey [[link removed]] is closing soon. Please don’t miss this opportunity to share information about your program, results and interests. The information collected through the survey is incredibly useful to me when I have opportunities to share the impact of local VITA programs before Congress. By providing a richer picture of the VITA program and its impact, we can better advocate for the field and its needs throughout the year. Please take a moment to answer the survey if you haven’t already.

We’re also hosting fireside chats [[link removed]] later this month with our fantastic Rockefeller cohort. These personal, bite-sized conversations cover the hot topics of the filing season and how one of your fellow VITA programs tackled them. Settle down with a cup of coffee and join us by the “fireside!”

Please encourage your volunteers and partners to join TON [[link removed]] so they can stay up to date on what’s happening in the community tax preparation field!

Happy Summer!

Rebecca M. Thompson, Director, Field Engagement & TON

“A father is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.”

~ Unknown

Spotlight: End of Season Survey Closing Soon!

We want to hear from you! The annual End of Season Survey [[link removed]] will be only open for the next nine days, so please take 10-15 minutes to complete the survey. Each program that completes the survey will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Amazon gift card!

Your answers are invaluable to TON as we examine the impact of COVID-19 on tax preparation programs as well as the overall successes and challenges of the filing season. To complete the survey, we recommend that you have your 2020 and 2021 tax site statistics ready. We ask you about the number of returns filed, number of EITC returns, client AGI and more. These statistics will help shape our understanding of your organization and the VITA field at large. Thank you for completing the survey!

MORE DETAILS TO HELP YOU:

WHO: One person from each community tax program, possibly a tax program manager or site coordinator, should complete the survey [[link removed]].

WHY: To recap the last two filing seasons, help to inform our plans for the offseason and identify where support is needed in preparation for the 2022 filing season.

WHEN: Please complete the survey by Friday, June 25, 2021

Updates from the Network

GetYourRefund.org Volunteer Opportunity

GetYourRefund is looking for volunteers to mobilize a national effort for postseason filing! This effort, known as the National Tax Justice Service Team, needs your help. Join this effort today by filling out the interest form [[link removed]]! Thank you for your help on this project and we’re excited to get started!

CBPP Outreach Materials

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Get It Back Campaign has released a new Toolkit for Stimulus Check Outreach to Immigrant Families [[link removed]]. It features a media guide, talking points, sample social media posts, flyers, a radio PSA script, text message and email. The toolkit is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese. In addition to families with immigrants, the toolkit can be used through the remainder of the year to connect with harder-to-reach populations such as families with no or low-incomes, families with a member who is incarcerated, people who lack secure housing, people without Internet access, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities.

VITA Leadership Institute Resources

The VITA Leadership Institute Resource page [[link removed]] is live with fully updated worksheets to help with your VITA grant and program planning. You can check out the cultivated resources from the cohort and use them for your own program as you prepare for your VITA grant application and with your planning for next filing season.

Virtual VITA Toolkit

Need help tackling the Virtual VITA process? Prosperity Now has developed a Virtual VITA toolkit [[link removed]] with the resources and supports to help you transition to Virtual VITA. The toolkit addresses elements of the Virtual VITA process from both the client and volunteer perspective. Check it out today!

MyFreeTaxes

MyFreeTaxes.com is still live for 2021! You can use the link for the direct MyFreeTaxes site [[link removed]] and the partner portal [[link removed]]. Check out MyFreeTaxes and share with your community today!

EIP Guide

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated their guide on the three Economic Impact Payments in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Tagalog. This guide [[link removed]] answers a series of FAQs based around the newest tax law information all in one convenient location.

Second Stimulus Check FAQs

The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities’ Get It Back Campaign has resources on the second stimulus checks [[link removed]], stimulus eligibility for immigrants, [[link removed]] and what to do if someone didn’t get their first or second stimulus checks [[link removed]]. Stay tuned for additional stimulus/Recovery Rebate Credit materials.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a blog [[link removed]] on the Recovery Rebate Credit, EITC lookback, and reasons to file! Be sure to pass this on to your partners!

RideShareTaxHelp

RideSharetaxHelp.com [[link removed]] is updated for the 2021 tax filing season. This project of the Get It Back Campaign and CASH Campaign of Maryland provides comprehensive guidance on tax filing for Uber and Lyft drivers. Tax info for food couriers will be added soon.

Unemployment Benefits & Taxes

The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities’ Get It Back Campaign has new resources to help people understand taxes and unemployment benefits: a guide to paying federal, state, and local taxes on unemployment benefits [[link removed]] and a guide to the 1099-G Form and how different states deliver it [[link removed]].

Self-Employment Tax Calculator

The Get It Back Campaign and CASH Campaign of Maryland have updated their estimated payments calculator [[link removed]] that is part of the Roadmap to Rideshare Taxes project. [[link removed]] This tool helps self-employed workers calculate their estimated tax payments.

Knights of the Tax Roundtable

Knights of the Tax Roundtable [[link removed]] puts a face to the names you see on the Tax Roundtable and brings answers to your burning tax hot topics!

Tools and Information for the FieldUpdates from the IRS and SPEC

Non-Filer Portal

The Treasury Department and the IRS have unveiled an online Non-filer Sign-up tool [[link removed]] designed to help eligible families who don’t normally file tax returns register for the monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments, scheduled to begin July 15. This tool is also designed to help eligible individuals who don’t normally file income tax returns register for the $1,400 third round of Economic Impact Payments and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed.

CTC Awareness Day is June 21

The Biden-Harris administration announced that Monday, June 21st will be Child Tax Credit Awareness Day—a day of action to get the word out far and wide on the upcoming monthly payments that will benefit nearly all families. The administration will be calling on elected officials, faith-based groups, organizations that fight for children and families, and other partners to join us on June 21st to raise awareness that help is on the way. Join Prosperity Now on social media as we raise awareness on the CTC and how it can help millions of families nationwide!

Zip-Code Level Data Now Available

Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis analyzed IRS data to identify where children who may be eligible to be claimed for the expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit but who had not been claimed on a recent tax return are located. The data can be used to help organizations focus their outreach efforts seeking to sign up non-filers for monthly Child Tax Credit payments. This ZIP Code-level analysis is available here [[link removed]].

TaxSlayer Support Info:

Please use the following information to create a support ticket with TaxSlayer this filing season:

Phone: 1-800-421-6346

Email: [[email protected]]

Support Hours (Beginning April 16th):

Monday – Friday: 8AM – 5PM ET

Also, be sure to check out the TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Blog [[link removed]] for important software updates.

IRS SPEC Partner Webcast Schedule

Click here [[link removed]] to get the full 2021 schedule for IRS SPEC Partner Webcasts to ensure that you stay up-to-date on the latest news and resources from IRS SPEC.

Link and Learn

The online certification and tax law curriculum from IRS SPEC is available for use by VITA/TCE volunteers. This Fact Sheet [[link removed]] and Volunteer Tax Alert [[link removed]] provide important information necessary for certification.

TaxSlayer Suggestion Box [[link removed]]

Do you have thoughts or ideas on how TaxSlayer could be improved to help you run your sites more efficiently and make it easier to prepare and file more quality returns? Share them in the VITA/TCE Suggestion Box [[link removed]]. Your feedback is needed for both federal and state returns, as well as reports.

Learning

OpportunitiesUpcoming Learning Opportunities

Ensuring and Expanding Access to Alternative Tax Preparation Services Fireside Chats [[link removed]]

Join the Prosperity Now team and our latest cohort on the hottest topics in the tax preparation space for three fireside chats in June!

Session 1: Volunteer Management for Alternative Service Delivery – June 10 | 3 PM ETSession 2: Alternative Service Delivery and Client Outreach – June 15 | 3 PM ETSession 3: Engaging Partners in a Coalition to Advance your Cause – June 28 | 3 PM ET

If you have ideas for future learning events, stories or resources, contact us at  [email protected] [[link removed]].

Camp Prosperity 2021: Advocacy Summer Camp Series [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now

June 29, 2021: Mapping Influence: Understanding Who and How to Engage for ChangeJuly 13, 2021: Successful Allyship in Grassroots AdvocacyJuly 27, 2021: Advocating for Equity-centered PoliciesRecent Webinars and Events

The ARPA Opportunity Webinar [[link removed]]

This webinar hosted by our partners at Commonwealth tackles some of the opportunities to come from the American Rescue Plan Act. Topics covered include the role of FinTech, financial security, and more!

Virtual Advocacy

Want to get started on virtual advocacy, but don’t know how to start [[link removed]]? To find resources for effective advocacy at every level, visit our Prosperity Now Advocacy Toolkit [[link removed]].

How Tax Policy Can Help Low-Income Americans’ Pandemic Plight [[link removed]]

February 26, 2021

In this episode of Tax Notes Talk, Rebecca Thompson of Prosperity Now, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected low-income communities and families of color in the United States, and what tax policy tools could help them.

VITA Leadership Institute Year One Analysis [[link removed]]

October 22, 2020

After a successful VITA Leadership Institute, we want you to join us in sharing our results and how we plan on moving forward! This is a can’t-miss event for newer programs wanting to get an inside look at all aspects of a great VITA program!

TON COVID-19 Listening Session [[link removed]]

April 28, 2020

We’ve broken down the most impactful resources from our national partners around COVID-19 as well as the new GetYourRefund.org virtual VITA pilot.

Evaluating Tax Time Savings Behaviors [[link removed]]

Have you ever wondered what tax time savings and behaviors look like on the national scale? Well, wonder no more because the Taxpayer Opportunity Network is here to provide you with the answers!

Latest Tax Prep Dispatch

The Shrinking Offseason [[link removed]]

July 1, 2020

Reset Button [[link removed]]

May 1, 2020

Non-Filers 101 [[link removed]]

April 15, 2020

Alternative Service Delivery Tips! [[link removed]]

April 6, 2020

Signed, Sealed, Delivered? [[link removed]]

March 30, 2020

The Drop-Off Process [[link removed]]

March 19, 2020

COVID-19 and VITA [[link removed]]

March 13, 2020

Browse older editions of the Dispatch [[link removed]]

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