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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 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 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 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 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.
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! 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. 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 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 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 and the partner portal. 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 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, stimulus eligibility for immigrants, and what to do if someone didn’t get their first or second stimulus checks. Stay tuned for additional stimulus/Recovery Rebate Credit materials.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a blog on the Recovery Rebate Credit, EITC lookback, and reasons to file! Be sure to pass this on to your partners!
RideShareTaxHelp
RideSharetaxHelp.com 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 and a guide to the 1099-G Form and how different states deliver it.
Self-Employment Tax Calculator
The Get It Back Campaign and CASH Campaign of Maryland have updated their estimated payments calculator that is part of the Roadmap to Rideshare Taxes project. This tool helps self-employed workers calculate their estimated tax payments.
Knights of the Tax Roundtable
Knights of the Tax Roundtable 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 Field
Updates from the IRS and SPEC
Non-Filer Portal
The Treasury Department and the IRS have unveiled an online Non-filer Sign-up tool 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.
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 for important software updates.
IRS SPEC Partner Webcast Schedule
Click here 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 and Volunteer Tax Alert provide important information necessary for certification.
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. Your feedback is needed for both federal and state returns, as well as reports.
Learning
Opportunities
Upcoming Learning Opportunities
Ensuring and Expanding Access to Alternative Tax Preparation Services Fireside Chats
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 ET
- Session 2: Alternative Service Delivery and Client Outreach – June 15 | 3 PM ET
- Session 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].
Camp Prosperity 2021: Advocacy Summer Camp Series | Prosperity Now
- June 29, 2021: Mapping Influence: Understanding Who and How to Engage for Change
- July 13, 2021: Successful Allyship in Grassroots Advocacy
- July 27, 2021: Advocating for Equity-centered Policies
Recent Webinars and Events
The ARPA Opportunity Webinar
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? To find resources for effective advocacy at every level, visit our Prosperity Now Advocacy Toolkit.
How Tax Policy Can Help Low-Income Americans’ Pandemic Plight
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
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
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
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
July 1, 2020
Reset Button
May 1, 2020
Non-Filers 101
April 15, 2020
Alternative Service Delivery Tips!
April 6, 2020
Signed, Sealed, Delivered?
March 30, 2020
The Drop-Off Process
March 19, 2020
COVID-19 and VITA
March 13, 2020
