CHAPTER 4-1: Volunteer Protection Act (VPA)

Public Law 105-19, Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (VPA) generally protects volunteers from liability for negligent acts they perform within the scope of their responsibilities in the organization for which they volunteer. The VPA is not written exclusively for the Internal Revenue Service. This is a public law and relates to organizations that use volunteers to provide services. Under the VPA, a “volunteer” is an individual performing services for a non-profit organization or a governmental entity who does not receive:

• Compensation (other than reasonable reimbursement or allowance for expenses incurred), or

• Any other thing of value in lieu of compensation more than $500 per year

The term “volunteer” includes those serving as a director, officer, trustee, or direct service volunteer. Those who do not fit this definition should seek advice from their sponsoring organization’s attorneys to determine liability protection rights.

The purpose of the VPA is to promote the interests of social service program beneficiaries and taxpayers and to sustain the availability of programs, non-profit organizations, and governmental entities that depend on volunteer contributions. It does this by providing certain protections from liability abuses related to volunteers serving non-profit organizations and governmental entities.

The VPA protects volunteers from liability if they were acting within the scope of the program and harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, and conscious, flagrant, indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer. The VPA does not protect conduct that is willful or criminal, grossly negligent, reckless, or conduct that constitutes a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer.

All IRS-certified volunteer preparers must only prepare returns that are within scope of the VITA/TCE programs. All out-of-scope returns must be referred to a professional return preparer. For additional information on VITA/TCE in-scope topics, refer to the Scope of Service Chart in Publication 4012, VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide. The definition of “scope” refers to VITA/TCE eligible tax law topics applied to a volunteer prepared tax return. Scope does not refer to income levels.

As a coordinator, you are responsible for protecting and monitoring your volunteers to ensure they are adhering to the Quality Site Requirements and preparing returns within the scope of the VITA/TCE programs. In general, if volunteers only prepare returns within the scope of the VITA/TCE programs and adhere to the Volunteer Standards of Conduct, they are protected. However, local state laws still must be considered. Sponsoring organizations should seek advice from their attorneys to determine how this law protects their volunteers.