Recruitment is underway across southwest Ohio for volunteers and partner organizations for the Internal Revenue Service’s free tax preparation programs. Volunteers must receive training and achieve certification over the next few months to provide free tax help to others during the 2015 tax filing season.

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free tax help to seniors as well as to low-to-moderate income and disabled individuals. Partner organizations set up free tax preparation sites in local communities, where volunteers meet with and assist qualifying taxpayers. Some VITA or TCE sites may offer a “self-prepare” option for people to do their own taxes for free using web-based tax preparation software. Volunteers will be needed in all these sites during the upcoming filing season.

VITA and TCE tax prep volunteers are trained to help identify when taxpayers qualify for tax deductions and credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low- to-moderate income working people.

While volunteers are needed for tax preparation, help is also needed for a variety of other important roles. These include greeter/screener, interpreter, site administrator/coordinator and computer specialist or troubleshooter. Tax preparers, quality reviewers and tax coaches do need to complete specialized tax law training and certification in order to assist others with their tax returns.

Regardless of the role, all VITA and TCE volunteers perform a valuable service. Their training is free and their volunteer hours are flexible.

The Southwest Ohio EITC Initiative has sites located across Hamilton, Butler and Clermont Counties. During the 2014 filing season, 374 volunteers prepared and filed more than 5,850 federal tax returns. As a result of their efforts, local taxpayers received more than $8 million in federal refunds, to include nearly $3 million in EITC going to area working families and individuals.

Details are available on the IRS website, www.IRS.gov, at key words Tax Volunteer. To volunteer with or host a community VITA/TCE site, email TaxVolunteer@IRS.gov, or sign up to volunteer at http://www.MakeWorkPay.com.