Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) @ SDSU

Volunteers - Learning Resources

As a volunteer preparer, your primary goal is to provide quality service to eligible taxpayers. The applications and handbooks are designed to provide training and basic administrative guidelines to help you prepare accurate federal tax returns, including how to:

Maintain taxpayer confidentiality
Ensure that each return is prepared correctly
Effectively interview taxpayers to gather necessary information

Link & Learn Taxes, linking volunteers to quality e-learning solutions is the new web-based program providing an outstanding core curriculum through which SPEC Partners and Volunteers are given quality baseline training in tax return preparation.

Understanding Taxes (UT) program features over 1,100 pages of content designed to make learning taxes interactive, relevant, and educational. Understanding Taxes makes real world connections to classroom instruction. It is a great resource for high schools, community colleges, and the general public for learning more about the history, theory, and application of taxes in the United States.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)The EITC is money for people who work but don't earn high enough income, and could use the EITC to put food on the table, move into better housing, invest in education, transportation, or save for the future.

Volunteer Training Guides

IRS Student Training Guide (Pub. 678). Large file warning: [4,595 KB]
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p678.pdf

Your Federal Income Tax (Pub. 17) Large file warning: [2,087 KB]
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Tax Benefits for Education (Pub. 970) [406 KB]
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

Instructions for Form 1040 (ALL). Large file warning: [1,019 KB]
Updated tax rate schedules and more...
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf

Additional information to assist volunteers with return preparation.
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=121232,00.html

Forms and Publications.
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html

Please note: The information covered on our web site is not intended as tax advice nor should it be construed as tax advice. SDSU volunteers are not professional tax advisors and cannot give tax advice. For tax advice assistance, contact a professional tax advisor.