VITA Volunteers
How To Become A Volunteer
Certification Testing
As a VITA Volunteer at the University of Utah you must become certified to prepare basic and intermediate tax returns. However, the majority of the tax returns that we will be filing are going to be International Students. Therefore, the additional international student certification is strongly recommended.
The certification tests are taken online through Link and Learn (link provided below). Also, the tests are not timed, open book, and do not have to be taken in one sitting. Since you are given these benefits, you must score an 80% or higher in order to pass. About half of the test deals with tax law, which is mostly multiple choice and fill in the blank. The other half tests your ability to correctly fill out the tax return on Practice Lab (link provided below).
Here are some instructions for accessing the Foreign Student certification test. First, log in to the account you use for the basic and intermediate certification tests. Once you've logged in, click on the link at the top that says "My Profile" at the top of the screen. You'll then be able to edit your account details. The first thing posted is Group. In the drop-down menu, select number 8, Foreign Student. Click on Update. Click Yes on the next screen. You'll get a message saying your profile updated successfully. Finally, click on Home and you'll see a link to the test. If you need to get back to the other tests, just change your group back to VITA Volunteer.
Practice Lab & Link and Learn
There are some practice scenarios (4491-W) that will prepare you for when you actually start preparing tax returns. Practice Lab will allow you to practice common scenarios and take the certification test. Practice Lab is the practice software that we will use during the training and certification process. However, we will be using Taxwise Online once we start filing actual returns. Taxwise Online (TWO) is virtually the same program as Practice Lab.
When you are ready to take the tests after completing the scenarios you can access them through Link and Learn.
Instructions for setting up a login for Practice Lab and Link and Learn
• Go to LinkLearn
• Create an account at the bottom.
• After you create an account, go back to where you can login.
• To the right of the page you will see a link for “Practice Lab”. Click it.
• The password is “learntwo”.
• Next you will want to create a new user.
• Enter your zip code and your email address and then click on “Create User ID”
• An email will be sent to you with your User ID.
These are important login accounts, you will need these frequently.
So don't lose them!!!!!
Training Dates and Times
Even though all of the certification process can be done from home, the easiest way to get through the practice scenarios and tests is by doing them in BUC 103 with one of the Site Coordinators. Although the coordinators can't give you the answers to the test questions, they may be able to help point you in the right direction. Someone will be there to help:
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 6-8pm
Wednesday 2-4pm
Fridays from 11am-1pm
The lab will be open for training from January 18-February 5
It should take roughly 4 hours to become certified.
When Will You Volunteer
Our VITA site will be open from February 8-April 15. We will not be open the week of Spring Break. Once you have become certified at the INTERMEDIATE level, take a screenshot of either your certificate or just your home screen when you log in to Link and Learn that shows your passing score on the intermediate test. Paste the screenshot in a Word document and email it to Blake Draper at uofuvita09@gmail.com. You will then be able to sign up for the days you would like to volunteer. Click here to access the signup survey. It requires a password. As soon as I get your email verifying that you are certified, I'll get you the password. You will be able to sign up for as many as 5 days to volunteer. On Thursdays and Fridays 6 people can volunteer, and 4 people can volunteer Mondays-Wednesdays. I will also keep a schedule updated on Office Live so you can see how many spots are open or see which days you've signed up for. To view the schedule, you can click here to view the schedule, or contact me at uofuvita09@gmail.com to have a link sent to your email. If you can't make it to a day you've signed up for, contact a Site Coordinator for that day immediately so we can try to get someone else to volunteer.
Note that you can sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. So if there are only specific days you can volunteer, get certified early.
Training Materials
You will receive a training packet that includes:
Publication 4491-W This is the booklet that contains all of the practice scenarios that you will use to fill out the tax returns on Practice Lab ( Check Figures for Training Materials ).
Publication 4012 This will be your resource guide to use whenever you have particular questions about tax law (White Tabs) and Tax Wise Online (Blue Tabs). This book is very useful!
Form 6744 This is the booklet that contains all of the possible test questions that you will be tested on in the certification process. This booklet also includes all of the scenario details for the second half of the test.
Publication 17 /optional This is a more detailed booklet about the tax law. If you the answer to your question is not in the Pub. 4012 (above) then you can find the answer in this book. See me if you want this!
Who's Who?
VITA Manager
Blake Draper, uofuvita09@gmail.com
Site Coordinators
Mondays - Blake Draper
Tuesdays - ? If you have tax experience and are interested in running our VITA site on Tuesdays from 6:00-8:00 PM, contact BlakeDraper at uofuvita09@gmail.com immediately. Even if you may only be available on some Tuesdays and not every one, please express your interest! If this position can't be completely filled, we may not be open every Tuesday! I'll keep you posted.
Wednesdays
Thursdays - Tom Fishler &
Nastaran Alimadadi
Fridays - Mark Davis &
Linda Hume
Help on the Scenarios
First of all, you want to check the information that you entered from the client's W2's. Make sure that all of the boxes are entered correctly. Also, at the top of the W2 worksheet in the Practice Lab program there is a box for spouse or taxpayer. Be sure and check the box that applies. Also, you need to make sure that the filing status is correct, ie single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household. Finally you should check and make sure that if you are filling out the Earned Income Credit that you answer the questions correctly (Some of them can be tricky!).
One of the ways that you can figure out where the problem might be is by using the check figure table and the actual 1040 form. All of the lines on a 1040 are numbered and correspond with the check figures excel spreadsheet I sent to you in a previous email. So for example, the first column on the check figures spreadsheet is AGI Line 37. Go to line 37 on the 1040 and check to see if your number matches the check figure. If it doesn't, then you know that you made a mistake somewhere on lines 7 thru 37 (Income and Adjusted Gross Income Categories). For the next column in the spreadsheet you have to check Taxable Income Line 43. If this number is off it is probably a result of the filing status and/or the number of dependents you selected. Make sure you have those right. Use the same pattern until you find the problem and then you should get the right answers. If you are still having trouble, contact the VITA manager or a Site Coordinator and they will try to help you out.
FAQS
Q) What are the certification tests like?
A) The certification tests are not hard at all. Remember they are open book, open internet, and open whatever (just don't let somebody else take the test for you). The certification test questions come right out of the test booklet that I gave you in your training materials. So if you would like, you can take the test via the booklet, write all your answers in the booklet, and then go online to take the test and copy your answers from the booklet to the online test. The test has two parts, the tax law section(multiple choice/fill-in-the-blank) and the filling out the tax return section (using the Tax Wise Online [TWO] Practice Lab).
Q) How do I prepare for the certification tests?
A) You shouldn't really have to prepare much for the tax law section because it is open book. However, the filling out of the tax return section can be practiced using the 4491-W scenarios. What I would do, to get certified without having to spend a lot of time, is to start doing the basic scenarios in the 4491-W. There are 4 basic scenarios and one comprehensive scenario (we did this one in our training). After finishing each scenario, check your answers with the check figures that I sent to you in a previous email. If any of your answers are off, be sure to check these things.
a) Filing Status
b) Dependents and Personal Exemptions
c) EIC (is the box checked in the Main Info sheet by the dependents and did you go through the EIC Worksheet)
d) Economic Stimulus Check (If you look at the bottom of the second page of the intake and interview sheets, there is a line asking for the amount of their stimulus check. If they received a check, then you must go to line 70 on page 2 of the 1040. You'll want to fill out the worksheet by clicking on the amount in the line and clicking that little paper with the green arrow. It should load the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet, scroll down all the way to the bottom to line 28 and input the amount that they wrote on the intake and interview sheet)
e) W2 filled out correctly (Be sure to note which W2 belongs to who when filling out the W2 worksheet. At the top of the worksheet it asks if the W2 is for the Taxpayer or the Spouse. Also, don't forget to leave out any amounts that are in boxes 7-10 on the W2. And lastly, sometimes the amounts in boxes 3&5 are different from box 1. Boxes 3&5 are set to automatically put the same number found in box 1. So to get rid of the auto-fill you have to check the box at the top of the worksheet that says "Check to take calculations off of lines 3, 4, 5, and 6."
Q) I put the numbers into the worksheet but they are not adding up or flowing through. Why?
A) One of the weird flaws with Practice Lab is that you have to hit Save in order for it to calculate things. So be sure and hit save every time you type in numbers. This should help with that problem.
