Obtaining Continuing Education (CE) Credits For Volunteer Service with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

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1 Obtaining Continuing Education (CE) Credits For Volunteer Service with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Who is eligible to request CE credits? Attorneys Certified Financial Planners (CFP) Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Enrolled Agents (EA) Other Tax Return Preparers (OTRP) defined as a tax return preparer professional who is not classified as an EA, Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent, or Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Other Tax Return Preparers are unlicensed, non-credentialed or unenrolled tax return preparers. For additional information, see this IRS web page. What type of volunteer service qualifies for CE credits? Volunteers that serve at least ten hours as an Instructor, a tax return preparer and/or as a Quality Reviewer may receive the following 14 Continuing Education credit hours: 1 hour for VSC (Ethics) training 3 hours for Federal Tax Law Updates 10 hours for Federal Tax Law training In addition, a volunteer who serves as above and certifies on a specialty course may receive an additional four Continuing Education credit hours. What are the requirements to qualify for CE credits? All volunteers requesting CE credits must meet the volunteer requirements for the program including: Receive training on Tax-Aide Program Policies and Procedures and comply with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Standards of Professionalism. Register in Link & Learn Taxes (L&LT) and mark the CE Credit box as EA, noncredentialed tax preparer, CPA or other professional. If already registered as a volunteer in L&LT, edit the registration by updating My Account and marking the CE credit field appropriately. Complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (Ethics) training and pass the VSC test. Pass the Intake/Interview and Quality Review test and certify at the Advanced level in tax law before beginning their volunteer service. Volunteers requesting the full 18 CE credit hours must satisfy the above requirements AND certify in at least one specialty area (HSA, Military or International). All tests must be completed using Link & Learn Taxes per IRS requirements.

2 How are CE credits requested? Eligible volunteer completes applicable sections on the back of Form Volunteer Standards of Conduct Agreement before submitting it to his or her local volunteer leader for review and approval. Volunteer leader (e.g., DC, Instructor, LC) reviews form and ensures that it is complete and reflects the volunteer s participation in the program. Leader adds his or her name, title and signature indicating approval. Volunteer or volunteer leader submits the approved form to the designated IRS SPEC Territory Manager by April 30. Do Not submit any forms to AARP Foundation Tax-Aide national office. Do Not submit via the Portal or OneSupport Help Center. Volunteers will receive notice directly from IRS if credits are granted or denied. If notice is not received from the IRS by September 30, first check your PTIN account (as applicable). If credits are not showing, volunteers should then contact the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility is the sole entity to determine whether credits are granted. Note: A list of IRS-SPEC Territory Managers is posted on OneSupport Help Center. All Enrolled Agents and Non-credentialed tax return preparers must have a valid PTIN. What are the timeframes for requesting credit? The form may be submitted only after hours claimed are completed. All forms must be submitted to the IRS by April 30. Late submissions will not be accepted by the IRS. How will the IRS notify the volunteer of the outcome of the request for CE credits? IRS SPEC will issue a Continuing Education certificate directly to the volunteer upon completion of the requirements. If there are errors on the form or if more information is needed, IRS SPEC will contact the volunteer directly. What else is important for volunteers to know? The National Office will assist volunteers requesting CE credits to follow up on the status of the credits if necessary, but in most cases the Office of Professional Responsibility will require the volunteer to contact them directly for privacy reasons. CPAs are not required to have a PTIN, but if the CPA does have a PTIN, the Office of Professional Responsibility will track CE credits earned on their website. Remember that it is still the responsibility of the CPA to submit their CE certificates to their local governing board/societies for CE credit. EAs and OTRPs must register or renew their PTIN through AARP Foundation Tax-Aide thanks those volunteers who are practicing tax preparers but who still serve at Tax-Aide sites during their busiest time of the year. The program is stronger because of the experience and knowledge you contribute to the program!

3 Appendix Completing Form for CE Credits The Form from Link & Learn Taxes is a fillable pdf form. Please type in as much of the required information as possible to ensure legibility. Forms that are incomplete or illegible will be rejected and resubmissions will not be accepted after April 30. From Link & Learn site Name must match name on PTIN card 02 - TCE - AARP Volunteer Valid mailing address Valid address AARP + name of site where service performed Years of service Volunteer signature Date P added by L&LT site for each test passed before Agreement is printed. Certify in specialty course for 4 additional CE credits Does not apply to Tax-Aide Legible name and title of Instructor Instructor signature

4 Name must match name above Volunteer s 8-digit PTIN Site address Must check one Site SIDN Check only one Total hours in the selected position Total hours in the selected position Legible name and title of Volunteer Leader Volunteer Leader signature Date signed

5 VITA/TCE Volunteer Tax Alert (VTA) Thank you for volunteering and for your dedication to top QUALITY service! VTA Number VTA Date Issued February 17, 2017 Purpose Notify volunteers when a taxpayer filing a tax return for tax year 2016 may claim education benefits without a Form 1098-T. Tax Law Change Beginning with tax year 2016, most students must receive a Form 1098-T to claim an education benefit. This requirement applies to the tuition and fees deduction, the American opportunity credit, and the lifetime learning credit. For tax year 2016 an eligible educational institution is not required to provide a Form 1098-T in certain circumstances: 1. Nonresident alien students, unless the student requests the institution to file Form 1098-T, 2. Students whose tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships or grants, or 3. Students for whom the institution does not maintain a separate financial account and whose qualified tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement with the student s employer or a government agency, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. If no Form 1098-T was issued because the school was not required to provide one, the taxpayer can still claim an education benefit if: The taxpayer otherwise qualifies to claim the benefit, The taxpayers can demonstrate enrollment in an eligible educational institution, and The taxpayer can substantiate the payment of qualified tuition and related expenses. Taxpayers should keep records that demonstrate enrollment and show that they paid qualified tuition and related expenses in case the IRS requests substantiation. Message to Volunteers Resources Please review this information before preparing returns for taxpayers. VITA/TCE sites can prepare affected returns as long as the return is within scope for the VITA/TCE programs. In addition, volunteer preparers and quality reviewers must meet the certification level(s) required to prepare the tax return. For additional questions, please talk to your site coordinator, partner, or IRS SPEC relationship manager.

6 SPEC Territory Managers February 2017 SPEC Territory States Covered Name Phone Number Atlanta, GA GA Elizabeth Hollingsworth Austin, TX TX (western) Andrew Reece Boston, MA MA, VT, NH, ME, RI Nerissa Smith Buffalo, NY NY Joe Hayek Cincinnati, OH OH Michelle Bell Columbia, SC SC, NC Steven Owens Dallas, TX TX (eastern) April Lambert Denver, CO CO, ID, MT, WY Steve Soria Detroit, MI MI DeAntonie Price Indianapolis, IN IN, KY Sally Wright Kansas City, MO KS, MO, AR Ishmael Alejo * ishmael.p.alejo@irs.gov Landover, MD MD, DC Tracey Quamie tracey.quamie@irs.gov Mobile, AL AL, FL (northern) Dennis (Lee) Edmondson dennis.l.edmondson@irs.gov Nashville, TN TN, MS Agnes Newman agnes.newman@irs.gov New Orleans, LA LA, OK Burnell Stepter * burnell.x.stepter@irs.gov New York, NY NYC Louis Morizio louis.morizio@irs.gov Newark, NJ NJ, DE Jacqueline Piper * jacqueline.m.piper@irs.gov Oakland, CA CA (mid-state) Shelly Dunn shelly.dunn@irs.gov Omaha, NE NE, IL, IA Joann Hopkins * joann.hopkins@irs.gov Philadelphia, PA PA Doris Greenwood doris.e.greenwood@irs.gov Phoenix, AZ AZ, NM, UT Patrick Reidy patrick.g.reidy@irs.gov Plantation FL FL (southern) Maritza Michaud maritza.michaud@irs.gov Richmond, VA VA, WV Elizabeth Skiba elizabeth.l.skiba@irs.gov Sacramento, CA CA (northern) Nora Campos * nora.campos@irs.gov Santa Ana, CA CA (southern) Sandra Fleming sandra.k.fleming@irs.gov Santa Ana, CA CA (southern) Diane Thomson p.diane.thomson@irs.gov Seattle, WA WA, OR Sue Stockman sue.m.stockman@irs.gov St. Paul, MN MN, WI, SD, ND Michelle Benson michelle.p.benson@irs.gov