AARP Tax-Aide Program

  • Chromebooks issued to counselors include, as a default, links to counselor reference materials such as the NTTC-modified version of Pub 4012. 
  • From other computers, those materials are at https://ta-nttc.tiny.us/NTTC-Resources (NTTC Google Drive). 
  • It shouldn’t be necessary to go to the Libraries section of the Volunteer Portal (volunteers.aarp.org) to find reference materials for tax preparation. . 
  • The shared CA-wide REFERENCES Google Drive (tiny.cc/ca-ref) includes CA-specific material, such as an electronic copy of this manual, as well as selected links to NTTC-prepared reference materials.
  • Act on information from “IRS Volunteer Tax Alerts” that are emailed to all volunteers.  If needed, Tax-Aide will send specific guidance separately.


Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board 

  • IRS website – Publications (“Pubs”), forms, and answers to tax questions: irs.gov/
  • Franchise Tax Board (State of California)
    • Publications, forms, and answers to questions: ftb.ca.gov
    • Email for questions from Tax-Aide and similar free tax preparation services programs: volunteercoordinator@ftb.ca.gov
    • MyFTB – Information for a taxpayer: estimated tax payments made, balance due, CA wage and withholding information: ftb.ca.gov/myftb (requires prior year’s state tax information to register for an account; PIN will be sent via mail, after registration, and is required to log in).


               **Don’t share Volunteer Hotline numbers with taxpayers**

IRS PHONE NUMBERS

M-F 6am to 5:30pm, Sat 6am to 2pm, Pacific Time

FTB PHONE NUMBERS

M-F 8am to 4pm, Pacific Time

Volunteer Hotline*

800-829-8482

Volunteer Hotline

800-522-5665

Tax Information

800-829-1040

Volunteer Coordinator

916-845-7052

Automated Refund Info

800-829-1954

General Number 

800-852-5711

e-file Help Desk (for rejects)

866-255-0654

Automated Service

800-338-0505

ID Protection Specialized Unit

800-908-4490

ID Theft Resolution Coordinator**

916-845-3669

* For tax law issues 

** Note for CA returns: In ID-theft cases, paper-file the California return. The FTB contacts the taxpayer regarding discrepancies. Contact the CA ID Theft Resolution Coordinator only after setting up a federal ID theft case.

TaxSlayer

  • TaxSlayer has a Knowledgebase to consult for answers to common questions: taxslayerpro.com/support. 
  • The “VITA/TCE User Guide – TaxSlayer Pro Online” is a comprehensive document, with extensive screen shots, for everything that Tax-Aide does in TaxSlayer:  from the Main Menu, Office Client List, or similar page, click “VITA/TCE Publications and User Guides” in the left navigation bar, wait for “Loading media” to finish, click the “Attachments” tab, then click “TaxSlayer Pro Online User Guide”.
    • The first 10 or so pages of content describe logins and passwords; the next 240+ pages are for administrators; the next 330+ pages cover how to prepare a tax return; the final 100+ pages are again for EROs and administrators.
  • The TaxSlayer VITA/TCE blog is at vitablog.taxslayerpro.com.
  • During the tax season, TaxSlayer provides real-time support via chat and phone support (800-421-6346) from 8am to midnight EST on weekdays, 8am to 8pm on weekends.
    • On-line chat is available inside a taxpayer return – click “Help & Support”, and then “Chat With Us”. 
      • Note: Chat is not available within Practice Lab. 
    • You can also email questions to support@vita.taxslayerpro.com; hours for response are the same as above. Don’t provide excessive personal information about a taxpayer – the last name and last four digits of the taxpayer SSN, plus your EFIN (see the bottom of federal Form 8879) or SIDN (see the bottom of Form 1040 of the PDF for the taxpayer, in the “PTIN” field) is sufficient. 

Recommended steps for researching an unfamiliar topic

  • Question the taxpayer thoroughly and review their paperwork to obtain all relevant facts.
  • Begin with the Tax-Aide-specific NTTC-modified version of Pub 4012, VITA/TCE Volunteer Resource Guide, (a Chromebook link) which provides information for most common questions, including questions related to TaxSlayer, in an easy-to-use format.  This version is updated for Tax-Aide scope.
    • Note that the print version of this is an IRS publication issued in October, missing Tax-Aide specific information.
    • Pub 4491-X, VITA/TCE Training Supplement, is normally published by the IRS in December and contains updates to Pub 4012, Pub 4491, and other IRS publications. The NTTC version of Pub 4012 (link above) is updated shortly after.
  • Review what this manual recommends. (You can search the electronic version or use the index at the end; an updated electronic version is usually released by early February.)
  • Consult the instructions for the relevant tax form you’re working with.
  • Use one of the Volunteer Hotlines on page 1.

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