IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) at Citrus College
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program is an IRS initiative designed to support free tax preparation service for the underserved through various partner organizations. This service helps low to moderate-income individuals, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited English speakers file their taxes each year. Volunteers learn how to prepare tax returns to assist members of the community.
VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including:
- people who generally make $64,000 or less,
- persons with disabilities, and
- limited English-speaking taxpayers.
In addition to VITA, the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help, particularly for those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
What We Offer
If you qualify, we will prepare your federal and California tax returns. Our tax return preparation assistance service is provided primarily by Citrus College student and faculty volunteers. Each volunteer tax preparer receives IRS-sponsored training and must pass a series of IRS VITA certification tests to ensure they are knowledgeable about the tax code and can provide accurate assistance to taxpayers. To ensure tax returns are prepared correctly and to minimize filing errors, all volunteers are under the supervision of experienced tax practitioners and/or trained faculty.
Taxpayer Information
General Eligibility Requirement
We will be able to prepare current year's tax returns that are within the scope of VITA.
VITA volunteers are generally not trained to prepare tax returns for complex tax situations such as extensive investments, rental properties, or businesses with losses, depreciation, expenses for business use of your home, and noncash charitable contributions exceeding $500.
For more information,
see Publication 3676-B for services provided.
Do you Qualify?
In general, if you made under $64,000 in 2024, our professionally trained volunteers can prepare and electronically file your federal and state income tax returns. At no cost, you can have your federal and state tax return completed at our site. You may also qualify for the Federal and California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) when you file your tax return.
Questions about the Qualifications?
If you have any questions about the qualifications, please contact us via email at
vita@citruscollege.edu.
VITA Location
Citrus College
1000 W. Foothill Blvd., Glendora, CA 91741
VITA Operating Dates and Hours
Dates/days to be determined
Operating hours to be determined
Tax Preparation Appointment and VITA Schedule
Schedule an Appointment
We welcome walk-ins; however, priority is given to those with an appointment.
Additionally, the number of walk-ins we can serve each day may be limited based on the number of appointments scheduled and the availability of volunteers. Please note: the last walk-in appointment that we can accept must be checked in by 2 p.m.
For us to better serve you, we encourage you to schedule an appointment.
Please
make certain you have all of your income documents
prior to scheduling an appointment, and please
bring them with you to your appointment.
For those individuals without an appointment, please
bring all your income documents, as well.
If you are missing any required tax documents, we will not be able to prepare your tax return.
Check-in
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time to check in and fill out an intake/interview form (Form 13614-C).
You can save time by completing Form 13614-C prior to arriving for your appointment.
Tax preparation assistance will be available during the following times and dates.
Time
To be determined
Location
To be determined
Dates
To be announced
Intake/Interview: Form 13614-C Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet
Taxpayers will need to complete the Form 13614-C. We will provide this form when you arrive to the site. You can save time by completing Form 13614-C prior to arriving for your appointment.
Proof of Identification and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (required)
- Proof of identification (valid driver's license, state photo ID or other government issued identification that includes a photo)
- Social Security card for each taxpayer and each dependent listed on their tax return
- An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) assignment letter may be substituted for you, your spouse, and your dependents if you do not have a Social Security number.
Other Tax Documents (if applicable)
- Prior year's tax return (if available)
- Proof of health insurance - Form 1095-A (if applicable)
- All tax documents reporting income earned during the tax year, such as:
- Form W-2: Wage and Tax Statement
- Form 1099-B: Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
- Form 1099-DIV: Dividends and Distributions
- Form 1099-INT: Interest Income
- Forms 1099-MISC: Miscellaneous Information
- Forms 1099-NEC: Nonemployee Compensation
- Form 1099-R: Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement, etc.
- Proof of deductible expenditures (if applicable)
- Business expenses
- Charitable contributions
- Form 1098: Mortgage Interest Statement
- Medical expenses (e.g., medical premiums, prescriptions, other medical expenses)
- Any other documents required to prepare an accurate return.
- Bank account routing number and account number for either direct deposit of your refund or direct withdrawal for any balance due. You may also use a voided check for this information.
- If the IRS assigned you an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN), please bring a copy of the CP01A notice. You may use the
Get an IP PIN online tool to retrieve your current IP PIN. If you don't already have an account on IRS.gov, you will be asked to register for an account and validate your identity.
- If you believe you are missing some reported tax information, taxpayers may access and download their tax records online from the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. You will need to create your IRS online account if you do not have one.
Volunteer Information
Participating in the VITA program can be a valuable addition to your academic and professional journey, providing you with practical skills, personal growth, and a deeper connection to your community. Through this volunteer work experience opportunity, you will:
- impact in the community by assisting individuals and families who may not have access to affordable tax preparation services.
- gain practical experience in preparing tax returns by apply tax knowledge to real-life scenarios.
- develop new technical skill by using a professional tax preparation platform.
- develop analytic and research skills by reviewing tax laws and regulations to determine the appropriate tax treatment for unique tax-related situations.
- develop valuable soft skills such as leadership, communication, problem-solving, and customer service, which are important in professional business environment.
- broaden your understanding of tax laws and regulations, which will help you understand the tax impact of certain personal and business financial decisions.
- develop skills and habits that will make you more marketable.
- improve your interpersonal skills, gain confidence, develop interviewing skills to obtain missing information or clarify information that is unclear, learn the importance of documenting your work and learn the importance of confidentiality and privacy.
- learn to ask for assistance when encountering a difficult or complicated situation and learn to accept constructive feedback to improve future performance.
No prior experience or tax knowledge is needed. All majors are welcome.
General Steps to Qualify as a VITA Volunteer
Step 1
Step 2
- Participate in alternative VITA tax law training (see training option)
- For those who desire college course credit, register for ACCT 113 VITA I tax law training for course credit (optional).
- Complete the following IRS VITA tax certification exams:
- IRS VITA Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSC) Exam
- Intake/Interview and Quality Review Exam
- Basic Examination
- Advanced Examination (preferred)
Step 3
- Participate at the VITA site during the tax season.
- For those who desire college course credit for participating in VITA, register for ACCT 114 VITA II (optional).
Volunteer Non-Tax Preparer Requirements
All VITA volunteer non-tax preparers must pass the Volunteer Standards of Conduct.
Option 1: Enroll in ACCT 113 for course credit. It is recommended to concurrently attend the in-person training sessions (see Option 2).
Option 2: Hands-on training conducted on campus. Not required to enroll in ACCT 113.
Dates for all in-person training sessions: Specific training dates in January and February will be announced.
Location of campus training sessions: To be announced
More detailed information and access to our VITA Canvas shell will be provided to the VITA volunteers.
Online Tax Related Resources
Assistance:
Interactive Tax Assistant
The interactive tax assistant (ITA) is a tool that provides answers to several tax law questions specific to your individual circumstances. Based on your input, it can determine if you have to file a tax return, your filing status, if you can claim a dependent, if the type of income you have is taxable, if you're eligible to claim a credit, or if you can deduct expenses.
Electronic Filing:
Electronic Filing PIN Assistance
If you need to validate your electronically filed tax return, visit the following page to learn about the various methods.
Payments:
Make a Payment
If you need to make a tax payment, the IRS provide some online payment options. Visit the following page to learn more.
Record:
Get You Tax Record
You can view your tax records now in your online account. You can access your individual account information including balance, payments, tax records and more.
Refund:
Where is my Refund?
You can check the status of your income tax refund 24 hours after e-filing. Please allow three or four days after e-filing your prior year's tax year returns. If you filed a paper return, please allow four weeks before checking your status.
Payments:
Tax Payment
If you need to make a tax payment, the Franchise Tax Board provides some online payment options.
Refund:
Check Your California Refund Status
You may be able to get a tax refund if you've paid too much tax. Use this online service to check your refund status.
Campus Parking and Parking Lot/Building Directory Map
One-day parking permits can be purchased at any of the ten automated pay station machines located throughout campus. The daily on-campus parking rate is $5.
The automated pay stations are identified on the map with a "P" in a purple square box on the campus map. Visitors should place the daily parking permit, face up, on the driver's side dashboard to avoid a citation.
Visitors
without a valid parking permit will be cited, as parking enforcement is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Parking lot S4 is closest to the Liberal Arts/Business (LB) Building.
Parking meters, with a one-hour maximum time limit, are available in only two campus parking lots: V1 near the Student Services (SS) Building and E6 west of the Center for Innovation (CI) Building.
Questions about parking? Review campus safety parking guidelines.
Campus map with building location directory [PDF]
Access Services accessible loading and drop-off locations [PDF]
VITA Faculty Coordinator
Patrick Borja, CPA
