Why We Appreciate Our VITA Partners—and Tax Filers Do, Too

Code for America’s Tax Benefits program is all about making tax filing simple, free, and accessible for all. Since 2020, a key component of that mission has been our relationship with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Through VITA—an IRS program that’s existed for more than 50 years—trained volunteers complete millions of federal and state tax returns every year. The tax filers these volunteers help are people who stand to benefit most from filing a return: low-income families, people with disabilities, and people with limited English proficiency. For these populations, tax filing isn’t just about meeting a deadline; it’s a means of access to life-changing tax benefits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. 

Code for America created and operates GetYourRefund, a free IRS-certified virtual service that connects low-income households to high-quality tax services. Since our team can’t possibly provide one-on-one support to every tax filer who needs it, Code for America partners with VITA’s national network of known, trusted community-based organizations to assist tax filers and reach as many people as possible. Since its inception in 2020, this work has scaled to include more than 100 partners at nearly 250 sites in nearly three dozen states—and we’re still growing. Whether taxpayers prefer to file from the comfort of home or seek in-person help, they can use GetYourRefund to connect with skilled VITA partners and rest assured that they’ll have an accurate return and get the tax benefits they’re owed.

While the list of reasons we appreciate these VITA partners is endless, five factors unique to their work offer a picture of what sets these volunteers apart from other tax filing services:

1. Accuracy: Delivering on our promise of getting tax filers their highest refund starts with ensuring they submit an accurate tax return. Unlike the mostly unregulated paid tax prep industry, VITA requires every one of its volunteers to pass an IRS certification test annually. This ensures these volunteers claim only the applicable credits and deductions on each return. Furthermore, after a VITA preparer completes a tax return, that return goes to a second certified VITA tax preparer who conducts a mandatory quality review before filing the return. Due to this standard of excellence, VITA’s accuracy rate is 95.77%—significantly higher on average than paid preparers. 
2. Accessibility: For many tax filers, the mere notion of tracking their income sources and completing a return by the deadline is daunting. Those who have easy access to professional help have much better odds of submitting a complete, accurate, on-time tax return. For those who cannot access reliable paid preparers—because tax professionals are unaffordable, hard to reach, or simply unavailable in their area—virtual VITA increases the likelihood that filers will complete a return. This helps people not only avoid penalties for filing late but also ensures they receive the tax benefits they’re owed. 
3. Cost effectiveness: Because VITA relies on volunteers to provide clients with tax preparation services, the program’s expenses are low. IRS VITA grants support training for volunteers and wages for staff who coordinate program activities, and they ultimately deliver a great return on investment. When people have greater access to tax filing, eligible families have greater access to tax benefits which then have positive economic effects for the whole community. Beyond the direct impact on individual families, this access to tax benefits results in better health and education outcomes and a stronger economy due to the increased state and local spending that come from access to tax benefits.  
4. Trustworthiness: VITA partners are community-based organizations that exist to help people—not to sell a product or make a profit. A commercial tax prep office can be intimidating, but at a local senior center or house of worship, volunteer tax preparers who are familiar with the community and its needs can create a welcoming environment for clients. That level of care goes beyond just taxes; some VITA partners also connect clients to additional resources that can help them thrive within their community. 
5. Innovation: VITA partners are intentional in their efforts to meet the community’s needs. Rather than giving up when conventional tax filing methods are insufficient, they go above and beyond to innovate on the people’s behalf. VITA partners have been known to explore new service models to meet people where they are. For example, our VITA partners at the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona travel via helicopter to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to serve the Havasupai Nation, a rural Native American tribe that’s accessible only either by flight or by foot. VITA volunteers pack computers, printers, and other equipment they need to spend a week each spring helping people upload documents to GetYourRefund so their colleagues in Tucson can then complete and file returns. By leveraging technology as part of their commitment to help ensure tax filing is free and accessible to all, VITA volunteers are making a difference in this community.

Code for America’s relationships with VITA partners serve as a reminder of what’s possible when people step up to serve their communities. We’re proud of our technology, and we’re also really proud of the community organizations and individuals who create this impressive network of VITA volunteers, committing to help their neighbors navigate tax filing and knowing the bigger picture helps their communities thrive.