Taxpayer Opportunity Network Newsletter: January 2023
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Special Announcement: Celebrating $40M in Funding for VITA in FY2023
John, Happy New (Tax) Year! We’re kicking off the year with exciting news: the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2023 included $40M for VITA! Congratulations to YOU, as TON members—what an amazing achievement. In a very short span of time and in an incredibly difficult political environment, we went from $12M in 2016 to $15M to $18M to $25M to $30M…and now to $40M in 2023! We're proud to celebrate this accomplishment alongside TON, our VITA field, national partner United Way Worldwide, and our advocates across the nation. Just WOW. Let’s keep building!
This month’s edition of the TON Newsletter is jam-packed with tax season resources, upcoming opportunities and other exciting announcements. Read on for more!
Breaking News: IRS announces the opening of E-file – Monday, January 23rd
Spotlight
Tax Season Kickoff with TON
Tax filing season is here, and we are working hard to bring you the resources you need for the 2023 filing season. First up: our annual Tax Season Kickoff Webinar, which we plan to hold on Monday, January 30th at 2pm EST, so look out for the invite and registration link in your inboxes soon! This “Ask me Anything” event will feature personnel from SPEC, Prosperity Now, Low-Income Tax Clinics, and expert VITA providers from our TON National Steering Committee who will be available to answer your questions about the VITA/TCE program, running a VITA/TCE site, tax law and whatever else you need to know as the 2023 filing season gets underway!
EITC Awareness Day
On January 27, we will celebrate Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. Stay tuned for our digital toolkit featuring guidance for taxpayers, sample posts for social media, shareable images, tools for practitioners, and more to help you promote this valuable credit in your community. TON members will receive the toolkit and more information via email and on Prosperity Now’s Twitter and LinkedIn, so follow us to stay up to date!
Updates from the Network
VITA-Train has successfully left the station once again 🚂
In November, Prosperity Now launched VITA-Train 2022 to help VITA volunteers prepare for filing season. The VITA-Train is a free modular training program that prepares VITA volunteers to obtain the Basic and Advanced Level certifications, featuring a specific module for returning volunteers. Please utilize the VITA-Train resources by clicking below.
Announcing VITA-Train in Spanish!
We are also proud to announce that VITA-Train 2022 has now been translated into Spanish! Click here to access this helpful service in Spanish.
VITACon 2023
We are thrilled to announce that VITACon 2023 is coming to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this September. Prosperity Now is planning this biannual event in partnership with Just Harvest and the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and will bring together community tax preparation leaders from across the country to learn more about VITA, promote promising practices and build relationships among VITA practitioners, advocates, tax industry leaders, and other stakeholders. Stay tuned for the official announcement with confirmed dates and more details.
Upcoming Reports from Prosperity Now
Later this month and into February, we will be releasing a series of reports surrounding our VITA work in 2022. These reports detail our work with several organizations as we experimented with pairing VITA services with emergency savings, as well as increasing outreach to first-time and lapsed filers. Additionally, we are releasing a Refund Anticipation Loan paper, in which we explore implementing a refund anticipation loan for VITA service providers. Stay tuned for more information!
Tools and Information for the Field
Resources from the Network
Virtual Advocacy Toolkit | Prosperity Now
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.
TON Tips and Tricks Form
Got a great idea? Share it with us using the TON Tips and Tricks form. This short form can help us share ideas with our peers in the VITA field at large. These tips can be big or small, on topics ranging from volunteer management to quality review. We’re excited to hear from you!
Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Tax Time Resources
Social Media/Written Messaging Tools
Click here to access information on free filing options. Available in both English and Spanish
To adapt text for a blog post on free filing options, click here
Use CFPB’s social media messaging calendar to help communicate with consumers during tax filing season!
Videos from CFPB
A 2-minute video for service providers on free filing options and outreach
Tax Time Minute on Tax Prep in Your Community and Tax Time Minute on Online Tax Prep can be used to share information directly with consumers!
Upcoming Webinars with CFPB
Webinar: Resources for Free Tax Assistance Providers | Thursday, January 19, 2023, 1:00-2:00 Eastern. As tax season ramps up, hear about a wide array of resources that can support and enrich the work of VITA and Tax-Aid programs, including a) tax time planning, outreach and marketing tools, b) operational tools, c) ways to connect to other tax prep programs, and more. Register here.
Webinar: Free Tax Assistance for Lower Income Taxpayers | Tuesday, January 24, 2023, 1:00-2:00 Eastern. This webinar is designed for frontline service providers and program managers that want to know more about free filing options that use IRS-certified tax preparers. The webinar will highlight ways to encourage consumers to access those services and keep more of their money at tax time. Register here.
Webinar: Expert Panel on Free Tax Assistance for Lower Income Taxpayers | Thursday, January 26, 2023, 1:00-2:00 Eastern. Featuring leaders in the field, this follow-up to the webinar will dig deeper into community-based and online options for free tax preparation by IRS-certified volunteers. Register here.
Resources from IRS/SPEC and TaxSlayer
IRS/SPEC: What’s New?
Click here to learn from the IRS about what is new with tax filing in 2023.
The IRS is Hiring!
Click here to find out about hiring events and open positions available with the IRS!
Upcoming IRS SPEC Partner Webcasts
IRS SPEC hosts regular Partner Webcasts that are meant to ensure that you feel confident during filing season. The next webcast is on Feb. 7, 2023, from 1:00pm-2:30pm. For more information about this event and to obtain the full 2023 schedule, please contact your local SPEC Relationship Manager.
Important VITA/TCE Blog Posts
2022 PRACTICE LAB: WHAT WE KNOW – UPDATED 1/9/2023
STATUS OF ORDERS AND IMPORTANT DATES
Review and bookmark the TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Blog for more important updates thought the year!
TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Customer Support Information
Phone: 1-800-421-634
Email: [email protected]
Note: This is the first place to go with software questions or to report software issues!
TaxSlayer Suggestion Box
Share your thoughts or ideas on how TaxSlayer could be improved using the VITA/TCE Suggestion Box. Your feedback is needed for both federal and state returns, as well as reporting.
Network Events and
Opportunities
Upcoming Events
Webinar: 2023 Tax Season Kick-Off | Prosperity Now | Monday, January 30. 2023
Tax filing season is here, and we are working hard to bring you the resources and support needed to promote success and efficiency for the 2023 tax season! The Tax Opportunity Network will be holding our annual “Tax Season Kick Off” on Monday, January 30, 2023, at 2:00 pm EST.
Webinar Recording: VITA Offseason Prep: 2022 Tax Law Updates | Prosperity Now | Recorded December 8, 2022
Click here to watch the recording of Prosperity Now’s 2022 Tax Law Updates Webinar hosted by TON members Brad Martin and Marshall J. Hunt, which provides tax law updates and highlights, specifically those that will impact VITA sites moving forward.
Webinar: All You Need to Know About the Child Tax Credit and Other Credits This Tax Season | Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Join the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Code for America, Coalition on Human Needs, Partnership for America's Children & Prosperity Now for a webinar on how families who have yet to claim the 2021 expanded CTC can still do so and how to help them, as well as information on other important tax credits such as the EITC for the 2022 tax filing season. This webinar will be offered in English and Spanish.
VITA/TCE Jobs Bank
Community Tax Aid DC has several openings for seasonal positions from mid-January to late April:
Quality Reviewer. Seasonal, part-time, 3 to 30 hours a week.
Times: Evenings 5:30-9:30pm; Saturdays, Sunday afternoons
Locations: various in DC and Maryland (Oxon Hill, Rockville, Wheaton, DC)Efile Coordinator-UPO. Seasonal, 10-30 hours a week.
Location: Anacostia DC
Times: flexible weekday and some weekday eveningsSite Coordinator. Seasonal, part-time, 15 to 30 hours a week.
Times: Evenings 5:30-9:30pm; Saturdays, Sunday afternoons
Locations: various in DCSite Assistant- MLK. Seasonal, part-time 5-30 hours a week.
Times: Evenings 5:00-9:30pm; Saturdays, Sunday afternoons
Location: downtown DCSite Assistant- Jubilee. Seasonal, part-time 5-20 hours a week.
Times: Evenings 5:00-9:30pm; Saturday morning
Location: Adams Morgan, DC
Contact [email protected], for more details.
