Welcome to VITA at the HNRC

Our Process

We have steps that must be followed per the IRS guidelines for our program.

Before you visit us at the Herndon Neighborhood Resource Center during our opening hours, gather all necessary documents.

While you are with us:
1.  Complete your intake forms and provide all of your documents.  For in-person tax preparation, your documents will typically not be copied and will remain on-site while you wait.  You'll get a copy of the required IRS form 13614-C (also in Spanish) upon arrival to complete and then we can get started.
2.  Have an interview with one of our certified tax preparers.
3.  Assist as needed in the tax preparation process.
4.  Review your completed tax return with a volunteer & sign the return.
5.  Your tax return will be electronically filed that day, and if it is not accepted by the IRS, you will be notified at the cellular phone number or email address you provided that you need to return with your documents to the site.
6.  1-4 days after you have electronically filed, the status of your tax return submission is available via the IRS's "Where's My Refund" tool.  Unfortunately, our team has no additional information once submitted to the IRS, but if that tool does not indicate a return has been received after 4 days, please return to the site for assistance.

Since 2021, we are not scheduling appointments and will assist clients up to our daily capacity limits.  While we try to assist clients in a first-come, first-served order, this is not always possible due to various factors including volunteer certification levels, language preference and tax return complexity.

Most tax returns should be able to be completed, reviewed, and electronically filed in a single visit. 
Some tax returns that meet the income guidelines of the program are still beyond the scope of this volunteer program and our volunteer certifications at the "advanced" level.  To view a list of what is included and beyond the scope of this volunteer program, please see this IRS publication.