0926 Publ 5347 (PDF)

Official source: IRS Forms, Instructions & Publications (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5347.pdf), retrieved 2026-10-03. U.S. Government work (17 U.S.C. § 105).

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Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) oversees the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs, which provide free federal tax return preparation services to low and moderate income taxpayers, seniors, individuals with disabilities, persons with limited English proficiency, and Native American communities. For more than 50 years, SPEC’s VITA/TCE partners have played a vital role in expanding access to tax assistance and serving taxpayers in underserved communities across the nation.

During the 2026 filing season, dedicated SPEC partners supported over 9,000 VITA/TCE sites, with more than 84,500 volunteers. VITA/TCE sites prepared and filed over 2.9 million federal tax returns across the country.

Based on the results of 2026 Quality Statistical Sample (QSS) reviews and the statistical weighting methodology applied by Statistics of Income (SOI), the estimated overall accuracy for federal tax returns prepared at eligible VITA/TCE sites nationwide was 98.47%.

This outstanding result reflects the hard work and contributions of SPEC partners, sites, and volunteers to make return accuracy a top priority while providing quality service to millions of taxpayers.

QSS reviews measure the accuracy of return preparation at VITA/TCE sites nationwide. SPEC uses these reviews to verify the correct application of tax law by evaluating the intake and interview process, reviewing taxpayers’ source documents, and examining completed tax returns. For additional information, see Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 22.30.1.3.8, VITA/TCE Return Preparation Accuracy.

While SPEC conducts several types of oversight reviews, QSS reviews serve a unique purpose. They are the only reviews used to estimate the accuracy of tax returns prepared at VITA/TCE sites, and the results provide the basis for the program’s externally reported accuracy rate.

Publication 5347 (Rev. 9-2026) Catalog Number 72794H Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

Fact Sheet: Quality Statistical Sample Review Results for SPEC Partners and Employees

QSS review results are representative only of VITA/TCE sites that meet the eligibility criteria for review. For Filing Season 2026, eligible sites were those that prepared at least 50 tax returns during Filing Season 2025. Sites that prepared fewer than 50 returns in 2025, as well as sites that began operations in 2026, were not eligible for a QSS review and are therefore not reflected in these results.

The QSS Review Sample Plan was designed to statistically measure and validate the accuracy of tax returns prepared at all eligible SPEC sites during the 2026 filing season ¹ . The plan, developed in collaboration with the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Division, was based on the following parameters:

• Industry Standard Validity: Estimates within 90% confidence and 5% precision

• Enterprise Level Estimate: All sites combined

• Stratified Sample Selection: By partner type (VITA/TCE) and by SPEC area

A target sample of 50 VITA and 50 TCE sites was established, factoring in SPEC resource availability, historic accuracy, and desired confidence and precision levels. To mitigate the impact of anticipated site closures and/or inaccessibility within the sample, a slightly larger selection of 55 VITA and 55 TCE sites was initially chosen. Both the VITA and TCE sites were then allocated by area, using their respective production volumes from the previous filing season (2025) as a guide.

2026 Sample Plan Summary

Sample Plan Final Review

Returns Reviewed

(e-file Eligible)

Partner

Type

VITA 55 165 48 1 138

TCE 55 165 53 1 160

All Partners

110

330

101

2

298

The QSS Review Sample Plan included 110 site reviews, with three tax returns to be randomly selected and reviewed at each site, for a total of 330 planned tax return reviews.

QSS reviews were conducted throughout the 2026 filing season, beginning the week of February 8th and concluding on the week of April 5th. All QSS reviews were officially completed by April 8th, 2026.

Due to factors such as weather, site closures, and reduced operating hours, SPEC was unable to conduct reviews at all sites included in the original sample plan. QSS reviewers completed 103 reviews of the 110 planned sites, including 101 in-person QSS reviews

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Fact Sheet: Quality Statistical Sample Review Results for SPEC Partners and Employees

and two remote Quality Oversight Reviews (QORs).

Of the 330 tax returns originally planned for review, 298 eligible tax returns were successfully reviewed and included in the statistical analysis used to determine the 2026 accuracy results.

Note: One site reviewed in person did not have tax returns available for review. Seven other sites did not open during the filing season.

The weighted accuracy rate is the official estimate of overall return accuracy for the VITA/TCE program. Unlike a simple accuracy rate, which gives equal value to every tax return reviewed, the weighted accuracy rate accounts for the number of tax returns each reviewed site represents. This provides a more accurate estimate of program-wide performance.

For example, some sites prepare many more tax returns than others. If an error is identified at a smaller site that prepares relatively few returns, it has less impact on the overall estimate than an error at a larger site serving many taxpayers. As a result, the weighted accuracy rate may be higher or lower than the simple accuracy rate, depending on where the errors occur. Using statistical weighting helps ensure the reported results provide a representative estimate of tax return preparation quality across the entire VITA/TCE program.

2026 Weighted Estimates

Partner

Type

Site Visits

Return Reviews

Accurate

Returns

Estimated Accuracy Rate

VITA 47 138 137 98.08%

TCE 53 160 158 98.84%

All Partners 100 298 ² 293 98.47% ³

The 2026 QSS Review demonstrated exceptional performance, with 293 of the 298 tax returns reviewed determined to be accurate. After applying the statistical weighting methodology, the estimated accuracy rate for tax returns prepared at eligible VITA/TCE sites nationwide was 98.47%. This outstanding result reflects the dedication and commitment of SPEC partners, site coordinators, and volunteers to provide taxpayers with high-quality return preparation services

Weighted Estimate Notes:

• Weighted estimates represent the quality in sites that were eligible to be

selected in 2026 and reviewed in person.

• Weighted estimates are based on a two-sided 90 percent confidence interval.

• SPEC is 90 percent confident that the true accuracy rate among all returns

prepared in eligible VITA sites is between 95.12% and 99.47%.

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Fact Sheet: Quality Statistical Sample Review Results for SPEC Partners and Employees

• SPEC is 90 percent confident that the true accuracy rate among all returns

prepared in eligible TCE sites is between 96.36% and 99.80%.

• SPEC is 90 percent confident the true accuracy rate among all returns

prepared in all eligible SPEC sites (VITA and TCE) is between 96.81% and 99.40%.

• The review data suggests an unweighted (raw) accuracy rate of 98.32%. ³

1 VITA/TCE-level estimates will also be statistically reliable but may not be within desired precision. 2 One tax return reviewed during the QOR was not randomly selected and, therefore, was excluded from the statistical sample, resulting in 298 eligible tax returns for analysis.

3 Although the 2026 QSS Review resulted in a 98.32% unweighted (raw) accuracy rate, the unweighted results may not represent the actual accuracy of returns prepared by the population of all eligible sites. For the estimate to be statistically valid, it should take into consideration the methodology used to sample the returns included in the estimate. Weighting is used to ensure that every sampled case has the appropriate amount of influence on the final estimate (See IRM 21.10.1.3.2.3, Weighted Sampling, for more information). The accuracy rate of 98.47% is weighted appropriately and reflects the method used to sample the specific sites and returns included in the 2026 QSS Review.

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