Who do you serve? If you work with or serve people with disabilities who have low-to-moderate incomes, your organization may be a good candidate to partner for tax assistance in your community. We assist thousands of people with disabilities with free tax preparation and other services every year. You could be of great help to workers with disabilities, who often have specific questions and issues when preparing their income tax returns. For example, many people with disabilities are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has no effect on certain welfare benefits. You could promote the EITC by using your established local communication network to educate more people about this Credit. Ensuring more eligible local people receive the EITC will bring more dollars into your community. You may also offer information about other special EITC rules affecting this population. How can you participate? Your organization can sponsor Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in your community to prepare tax returns for people who don't prepare their own returns and cannot afford professional tax assistance. You can introduce or support asset-building techniques, such as bank accounts, for those who currently don’t have basic financial management skills. Your group can offer financial literacy workshops designed to explain the benefits of savings accounts and the disadvantages of not using mainstream financial institutions. This work is especially important to address amongst people with disabilities, as there are common barriers between this population and basic financial management practices. Where do you start? You have many choices. Your group is a valuable source of information for your employees, clients, or customers. You can educate the public on tax information or offer tax assistance by joining a community coalition already underway in your area. Do you need alternate formats for IRS forms and publications? The IRS is committed to making every document on its Web site accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. If you need help accessing these products, please link to our Accessible IRS Tax Products page. Forms and publications for people with disabilities We're glad to help We will help you get started, so please take a look at our Partner Products and Volunteer Resource Center for products, Web sites, and other materials that may be helpful in your partnership with IRS. Interested? If the mission of your organization coincides with that of IRS, why not consider becoming a partner? For the IRS Relationship Manager nearest to you, send an email to partner@irs.gov and let us know how we can help you get started.
