1126 Publ 5358 (PDF)

Official source: IRS Forms, Instructions & Publications (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5358.pdf), retrieved 2026-10-03. U.S. Government work (17 U.S.C. § 105).

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This document provides information about volunteer training and site materials for tax year 2026 (filing season 2027).

The IRS is committed to offering timely, relevant and accurate electronic and printed products for internal and external use. These products help ensure quality tax return preparation for our free tax preparation programs.

Our current guidelines require volunteers only prepare returns for which they are certified (Basic, Advanced, etc.) and that are within the tax law scope of the VITA/TCE programs. See the Scope of Service chart in Publication 4012, VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide.

• VITA/TCE electronic training materials will be available in PDF format on

IRS.gov by mid-October, unless stated otherwise.

• Publication 3753, If you want to improve the IRS – Speak Up, can be

shared with volunteers and the public.

• Publication 4491-X, VITA/TCE Training Supplement, contains updates and

corrections to the training materials. Volunteers must review this publication before preparing returns. Publication 4491-X is electronic-only and will be available online by mid-January.

• Publication 4012-A, VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide with Updates, is a

revised version of Publication 4012 that includes the changes made in Publication 4491-X. Publication 4012-A is electronic-only and will be available online by mid-February.

• Current year updates to Link & Learn Taxes e-Learning, Link &

Learn Taxes certifications and the Practice Lab are available mid- to late-November.

Publication 5358 (Rev. 11-2026) Catalog Number 72991C Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

Fact Sheet: VITA/TCE Training and Site Materials for SPEC Partners and Employees

NOTE: All volunteers must register and certify via Link & Learn Taxes certifications. Volunteers who do not pass the test the first time may review the course material and try again. Volunteers who prefer to take the certification tests using paper Form 6744 may continue to do so but must enter their answers in Link & Learn Taxes. Volunteers must include their name and address as they appear on identification documents on their My Account Page in Link & Learn Taxes.

• Publication 5101, VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training, will

be revised and discussed in the annual training webinar conducted in mid-to- late-October .

• Publication 5838, VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review Handbook,

is designed to help SPEC partners and employees understand the process of conducting effective intake/interview and quality reviews. All coordinators and volunteers who answer tax law questions, instruct tax law classes, prepare or correct tax returns, and/or conduct quality reviews of completed tax returns will use this publication for instructions on these three processes. All volunteers must understand the processes required to prepare a tax return from start to finish. Publication 5838 will be available by early-October .

• Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals), is only available

electronically. Partners must have Publication 17 available for reference at the site. Check for Publication 17 updates in January.

• Publication 4836, VITA/TCE Free Tax Preparation Site Information, will be

available electronically by mid-November . Also, Publication 4836 is no longer a dual language document. Sites are required to download and post both the English and Spanish version of Publication 4836 in an area viewable to all taxpayers requesting in-person service.

• Publication 4299, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Civil Rights – A Public Trust,

will be updated and only available electronically by mid-November.

• Publication 5166, VITA/TCE Volunteer Quality Site Requirements, explains

the QSR in detail to ensure the quality and accuracy of tax return preparation and consistent site operation. It also provides examples of not meeting each QSR and the corrective actions to take.

• Form 6744, VITA/TCE Volunteer Assistor's Test/Retest

  • Publication 4011, VITA/TCE Foreign Student and Scholar Volunteer

Resource Guide

• Publication 4012, VITA/TCE Resource Guide

• Publication 4695, VITA/TCE Puerto Rico Volunteer Test

• Publication 4696, VITA/TCE Puerto Rico Resource Guide

• Publication 730 (en-sp), Important Tax Records-Envelope (English & Spanish

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Fact Sheet: VITA/TCE Training and Site Materials for SPEC Partners and Employees

Version).

NOTE: Partners should continue using their remaining stock of envelopes from last year until it is depleted. Partners can order additional Publication 730 to supplement existing inventory.

NOTE: AARP Foundation Tax-Aide (Tax Aide) sites should not order Publication 730 because they use their own envelope.

• Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet, is printed on

yellow paper.

• Form 13614-C (sp), Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet (Spanish

Version), is printed on green paper.

• Both English and Spanish versions of Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview

and Quality Review Sheet, were updated based on tax law changes and partner feedback.

• Form 13614-NR, Nonresident Alien Intake and Interview Sheet, is printed on

white paper.

NOTE: AARP Foundation Tax-Aide (Tax Aide) sites should not order Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheets. Tax-Aide uses their own SPECapproved Intake Sheet Booklet.

• Computer Assisted Publishing System (CAPS) will become available October

6th to order VITA/TCE training products. The CAPS system emails the filing season 2027 version of Form 2333-V (dated 10/2026) to all active accounts with a valid email address. Partners should contact their SPEC relationship manager if they do not receive the electronic order form.

CAUTION: Change your computer and web browser settings to open PDF files using Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Acrobat Reader. Do not open Form 2333-V in the web browser or another program, it will corrupt the form. Save the completed form to your computer.

CAUTION: Never share the electronic Form 2333-V. The form encodes the account number on the PDF file, and the address information will update the embedded account number.

• Review and update contact information, if needed, and enter order

quantities on the order form or pre-populated spreadsheet.

• Do not use cut-and-paste options for data when completing the order

form and only use the following characters:

• Upper- or lower-case alphabets: A-Z, a-z

• Numbers: 0-9

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Fact Sheet: VITA/TCE Training and Site Materials for SPEC Partners and Employees

• Special characters: <>|{}¢¦:";`~!@#$%¬&*()_+-=

• Attach the saved Form 2333-V to an email. On the ‘Subject’ line, type

“VITA Program Order” or “VITA Program Reorder” and send to caps.pdf.orders@irs.gov.

NOTE: Contact vita.Administrator@irs.gov if you do not receive an email message within an hour acknowledging receipt of your Form 2333-V. Type “Non-receipt of Order Acknowledgement” and your VITA account number in the email subject line. Do not resubmit the order form unless instructed.

• A pre-populated spreadsheet is available for those regional AARP

coordinators ordering for a large population of volunteers. You may order any of the products listed on the spreadsheet. You can customize the spreadsheet by deleting unnecessary accounts. Your relationship manager can send you the pre-populated spreadsheet and instructions.

CAUTION: Do not add or delete columns. If you need to add new accounts to the pre-populated spreadsheet, add the account information after the pre-populated information.

• Please review orders thoroughly. Ensure the shipping information is accurate

and volunteers and/or sites will be available to receive shipments. This will help avoid unnecessary return shipments.

• Large orders often deliver in multiple shipments over the course of several

days. Do not resubmit the order unless instructed.

• Orders approved by SPEC in CAPS by 7:00 p.m. ET on October 20, 2026,

will ship first and should arrive before Thanksgiving.

• Relationship managers must approve orders in CAPS by 7:00 p.m. ET on

December 15, 2026, for partners/volunteers to receive printed products before the filing season begins.

• Partners submitting bulk orders for multiple sites should use available reports

or request assistance from their relationship manager to determine how to allocate the product appropriately among the sites.

• Contact your relationship manager if:

  • You do not receive your shipment. Do not input a duplicate order

unless instructed. Ensure you have received the total quantity of products ordered prior to sites opening.

• You close your site(s) and placed an order for products that you have not

received yet.

• You need additional products after your initial order.

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Fact Sheet: VITA/TCE Training and Site Materials for SPEC Partners and Employees

The following list of materials is not all-inclusive. We expect all current training and site products to be available electronically on IRS.gov by mid-October .

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