Yes, our service operates under the IRS VITA or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and is coordinated by Fairfax County. Volunteers undergo tax law certification each year so that they can offer you tax preparation on the most up-to-date tax laws.
Due to the ongoing global health crisis caused by Coronavirus / COVID-19, for tax year 2020 (January to April 2021), we are trying to serve as many clients as possible while preserving the health and safety of our clients and volunteers. We piloted virtual tax preparation last tax season for returning clients and decided we could offer that service to our clients with some modifications to be even more virtual for this tax year. We are entirely appointment-based for the automation of the process that is in place and to ensure our free virtual tax preparation can accommodate the demand, especially from our loyal returning clients.
Your tax return is always electronically submitted to the IRS the same day you sign your return. The IRS systems will acknowledge receipt or sent us a rejection within 24 hours. It is very rare for any of our tax returns to be rejected, and we work directly with those clients to resolve the issue. After several days, you can track the status of your tax return processing in the IRS systems at https://www.irs.gov/refunds.
Volunteer training begins each year around October and concludes in January to prepare for the start of tax season February 1. New volunteers need to complete various training courses either online or in-person and all volunteers must complete certification exams based on the services they want to provide. These exams range from the volunteer standards of conduct (VSC) exam required of every volunteer to advanced and specialty exams for our most experienced tax preparers. To sign-up or get more information about volunteering for the Fairfax County sponsored program, visit the Volunteers page or sign up in the Fairfax County Volunteer site.