CHAPTER 4-2: Volunteer Roles — 1025 Publ 5683 (PDF)

Defining roles in a site ensures everyone knows what they are doing. It sounds simple, but when roles are clear, people know what is expected of them, how to behave and what they need to accomplish. This section defines the roles and responsibilities of volunteers working at the site:

Coordinator

Roles: As the coordinator, your primary role is to verify all volunteers are certified to prepare tax returns at the appropriate level and to follow all site operating procedures.

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SPEC requires coordinators and/or alternate coordinators to be available while the site is in operation. Coordinators and/or alternate coordinators may be available at the site, by phone, or other electronic means.

As a coordinator you must:

Verify all volunteers are properly certified to work at VITA/TCE sites.
Create a process to verify the level of certification for each volunteer.
Ensure each volunteer has signed and dated Form 13615, Volunteer Standards of Conduct – VITA/TCE Program, before they begin work at the site.
Confirm the volunteer’s identity, name and address using a government-issued photo identification.

It is also your responsibility to share Volunteer Tax Alerts (VTA), Quality Site Requirements Alerts (QSRA), and technical updates with all volunteers during the filing season.

Coordinator Responsibilities:

Complete SPEC Site Coordinator Training by attending a partner sponsored training, viewing Publication 5088, VITA/TCE Site Coordinator Training, via Link & Learn Taxes (LLT), or downloading the publication from IRS.gov.
Certify by passing the VITA/TCE Site Coordinator Test with a passing score of 80% or higher prior to performing any site coordinator duties.
Complete Volunteer Standards of Conduct (Ethics) certification.
Complete VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review certification.
Complete Form 15272, VITA/TCE Security Plan, or similar document and submit to the local SPEC territory office by December 31st, for approval.
Supervise volunteers working at the site.
Develop a process to explain to volunteers the logistics and systems used at your site.
Schedule dates and times that your site(s) will be operational and Form 13715, Volunteer Site Information Sheet. Notify and submit changes to your SPEC relationship manager immediately.
Develop and maintain schedules for all volunteers to ensure there is adequate coverage, supplies, and equipment at your site.
Assign specific roles for all volunteers when installing your software.
Limit volunteer access in the tax software to only those duties the volunteer performs. Limit access of the Administrator roles to only volunteers who perform those functions.
Identify an alternate coordinator and ensure your alternate completes Site Coordinator Training and certifies by passing the Site Coordinator Test with a passing score of 80% or higher prior to performing any site coordinator duties.
Monitor your site’s intake and interview process and ensure all volunteers use Form 13614-C, Intake/ Interview and Quality Review Sheet, for every tax return prepared.
- Establish a process to ensure all IRS-certified volunteer preparers and quality reviewers are assigned returns within their level of certification and within scope of the VITA/TCE program (see the Scope of Service Chart in the Publication 4012, VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide).
- Create a process to show everyone who made changes to a tax return, including the preparers, quality reviewers, reject correctors, transmitters, etc.
- Ensure all IRS-certified volunteer preparers are having a discussion with the taxpayer while reviewing the information on Form 13614-C prior to preparing the return.
- Ensure a process is in place to conduct 100% quality reviews by a designated or peer-to-peer quality reviewer. Publication 4012 includes the Quality Review Checklist, which describes all action items the reviewer must complete during the Quality Review Process.
- Validate your site is using the correct SIDN on all tax returns.
- Ensure all taxpayers and spouses provide photo identification and that volunteers confirm SSN or ITIN for everyone listed on the tax return.
- Ensure all taxpayers with returns out of the scope of the VITA/TCE program are told they are not eligible for traditional VITA/TCE tax return preparation and advise them to explore IRS Free File options or use a professional tax preparer.

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Share and monitor adherence to the VTA and QSRA with all volunteers. These alerts are available at the Site Coordinator Corner, TaxSlayer VITA blog, and GovDelivery System.
Ensure the return preparers and the quality reviewers advise taxpayers of their ultimate responsibility for information on their return.
Complete Form 13206, Volunteer Assistance Summary Report, and send to your partner.
After the filing season, hold recognition events for volunteers. You may request volunteer certificates and service recognition milestone awards from your SPEC relationship manager.

IRS-Tax Law Certified Volunteer Preparer

Roles: IRS-tax law certified volunteer preparers demonstrate the greatest degree of public trust by providing top quality service and upholding the highest ethical standards while preparing tax returns for VITA/TCE customers.

Responsibilities:

Complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct Training – Ethics if a new volunteer. The training is available in Link & Learn Taxes (LLT) and in Publication 4961, VITA/TCE - Volunteer Standards of Conduct - Ethics Training. All volunteers must complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct certification in LLT.
Complete the Intake/Interview and Quality Review certification. All volunteers who assign returns, prepare returns, quality review returns, or answer tax law questions must certify in Intake/Interview and Quality Review. New volunteers must complete Publication 5101, VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training.
Certify, at a minimum, at the Basic level. For more complicated returns, certify at the Advanced, Military, Puerto Rico levels, Foreign Student, or international tax law levels.
- Prepare only returns that are within the volunteer’s certification level(s) and within the scope of the VITA/TCE program.
- Refer taxpayers with returns out of the scope of the VITA/TCE program to explore Free File options or use a professional return preparer.
- Provide high-quality tax return preparation to all taxpayers.
- Interview the taxpayer using Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet, to determine if all income, deductions, and allowable credits are claimed.
- Engage the taxpayer when preparing the tax return, to ensure understanding of the information on the intake sheet. Advise the taxpayer that they are ultimately responsible for the information on the return.

Designated or Peer-to-Peer Quality Reviewer

Roles: Quality reviewers conduct quality reviews on all tax returns prepared at the site to ensure every taxpayer visiting the site receives top quality service and that the tax returns are error-free. SPEC recommends quality reviewers be experienced in tax law application.

Responsibilities:

Complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct Training if a new volunteer. All volunteers must complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct certification in LLT.
Complete the Intake/Interview and Quality Review certification in LLT. All coordinators and volunteers who prepare returns, quality review returns, or answer tax law questions must certify in Intake/Interview and Quality Review. New volunteers must complete Publication 5101, VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training.
Certify, at a minimum, at the Basic level. For more complicated returns, certify at the Advanced, Military, Puerto Rico levels, Foreign Student, or international tax law levels.
Review Publication 5838, VITA/TCE Intake/Interview and Quality Review Handbook
Conduct a quality review on all returns, using the Quality Review Checklist found in Publication 4012. Use the completed Form 13614-C, source documents, and preparer notes to ensure all these items are consistent with the entries on the tax return.

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Advise the taxpayer that they are ultimately responsible for the information on the return before asking the taxpayer to sign Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, or the tax return.
Explain to the taxpayer that signing the return certifies that the taxpayer has examined the return, including all the forms and schedules for accuracy, and they are signing the return under penalty of perjury.
Provide feedback to volunteer preparers, explain errors captured during quality review, and give instructions for making the necessary corrections.

Volunteer Greeter

Roles: Greeters provide support to the site and IRS-tax law certified volunteer preparers by welcoming taxpayers to the site, screening clients to ensure they have the necessary documents for the preparation of their tax return.

A greeter is required to be certified in Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) only. Greeters do not assist taxpayers in completing Form 13614-C, answer tax law questions or assign tax returns to IRS- tax law certified prepares.

Responsibilities:

Complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) certification test. Returning volunteers are encouraged to review the VSC Training as a refresher. New volunteer screeners, greeters, or client facilitators must complete the VSC Training.
Develop a sign in sheet for taxpayers needing assistance.
Greet all taxpayers visiting the site.
Ensure the taxpayer has brought the required documents for tax return completion e.g., valid photo identification, Social Security card(s), W-2, 1099, 1095, prior year return, etc.
Provide each taxpayer with a Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet, to complete.
Explain the site’s return preparation process.
Monitor site traffic to ensure enough time is allowed for all taxpayers to receive assistance.

Volunteer Screener

Roles: Screeners or client facilitators provide support to the site and IRS-tax law certified volunteer preparers by screening all taxpayers to ensure the taxpayer has necessary information and documents required to complete a tax return. Screeners may assist taxpayers with completing Form 13614-C but may not answer any tax law questions.

A volunteer screener assisting taxpayers must be certified in Volunteer Standards of Conduct as well as Intake/Interview and Quality Review if they will be assigning tax returns to IRS-tax law certified preparers. Screeners must also be certified at the appropriate tax law levels before answering any tax law questions.

Responsibilities:

Complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) certification test. Returning volunteers are encouraged to review the VSC Training as a refresher. New volunteer screeners, or client facilitators must complete the VSC Training.
Develop a sign in sheet for taxpayers needing assistance.
Greet all taxpayers visiting the site to create a pleasant atmosphere.
Ensure the taxpayer has brought the required documents (e.g., valid photo identification, Social Security card(s), W-2, 1099, 1095, prior year return, etc.) for tax return completion.
Give each taxpayer Form 13614-C, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet, to complete.
Explain the site’s return preparation process to the taxpayer.
Monitor site traffic to ensure enough time is allowed for all taxpayers to receive assistance.

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Volunteer Interpreter

Roles: Volunteer Interpreters provide specialized services to deaf/hard of hearing and/or non-English speaking taxpayers.

Responsibilities:

New volunteer interpreters must complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) Training. Returning volunteers are encouraged to review the VSC Training as a refresher. All VITA/TCE volunteers must pass the VSC certification test. Basic tax training and certification is available but not required.
Translate between volunteer greeter, screener, coordinator, preparer, quality reviewer and taxpayer.
- Maintain confidentiality of taxpayer information.
- Deal with volunteers, stakeholders, partners, and the taxpayers in a helpful and supportive manner.
- Work with the partner and/or coordinator to determine VITA/TCE sites that require volunteer interpreter skills.
- Communicate with the Volunteer Recruiter/Publicity Specialist to ensure interpreter services are advertised for sites needing these services.