Income Tax Assistant
Canal Alliance is looking for volunteers to help community members during the upcoming tax filing season. Don’t know that much about taxes? Don’t worry — you’ll get specialized training in basic tax preparation.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people with low-to-moderate income, senior citizens, persons with disability, those who have limited English proficiency and others who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. All taxpayers get one-on-one help from IRS-certified volunteers who prepare their taxes for free.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- Must be able to commit to at least 4 hours each Saturday starting from Feb 7th – April 11th from 9:30am – 4pm
- We offer flexible scheduling. Volunteers can serve for a full or half day, but we ask that you keep the same schedule each Saturday for consistency
- Must be 18 years or older
- Do not solicit business from taxpayers being helped
- Treat all taxpayers in a professional and respectful manner
- Follow IRS quality site requirements
ORIENTATION
- Orientation for new volunteers will take place virtually sometime late November/early December.
TRAINING
- Training is virtual and consists of three Saturdays
- Part 1 – Saturday January 3, 2026
- Part 2 – Saturday January 10, 2026
- Part 3 – Saturday January 27, 2026
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Tax Preparer: You will directly provide free tax preparation services to low-income community members using IRS-approved software.
- Greeter/Screener: You will be directly welcoming taxpayers, assisting with filling out forms, and providing general information.
- Attend Canal Alliance orientation and IRS virtual tax training.
- Commit to a least 4 hours each Saturday during tax season
- Fill out Canal Alliance forms through DocuSign, forms will be emailed by Engagement and Stewardship Manager.
- Bilingual in Spanish and English is a plus but not required.
- There will be a virtual orientation on DATE TBD, for new volunteers to go over the VITA standards of conduct set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Our staff will provide the details by email.
- You will be trained by an IRS tax instructor and receive IRS training materials. Tax prep training will take place on Saturdays January 3, 10 and 17, 2026.
To Apply, please fill out our intake form and comment VITA in the additional comments box.
