The IRS VITA/TCE program is intended to serve Senior and/or low to moderate income taxpayers. Consequently, the IRS has placed limits on the services that we can provide. This page summarizes the tax issues that are in-scope and out-of-scope for the VITA/TCE program.
This list is not all inclusive, but covers the major in-scope and out-of-scope items. If you have a question about your specific tax situation, call the appointment line or request a callback for the site where you would like to have your taxes prepared.
We can only prepare tax returns for full year California residents. If you did not live in California all year, please see a paid tax pteparer.
| In-Scope (can do) | Out-Of-Scope (can't do) |
|---|---|
| Filing Status Single, Married Filing Jointly, Head of Household, Qualified Surviving Spouse | Married Filing Separately (exceptions apply, contact the tax preparation site) |
| Wages, salaries, tips, etc. (Form W-2) | Farm income, rental income, hobby income |
| Interest and dividends (Forms 1099-INT, 1099-DIV) | Nominee or Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act interest and dividends |
| Retirement income (Forms 1099-R, RRB-1099-R, CSA-1099) Canadian and German pensions in-scope for AARP Tax-Aide only |
Distributions from retirement accounts with nondeductible contributions |
| Social Security Benefits (Forms SSA-1099, RRB-1099) | |
| Capital gain/loss from sale of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs (Form 1099-B, Consolidated brokerage statement) |
Complex capital gain/loss (options, straddles, day traders, etc.). Sales or transactions involving Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency |
| State tax refunds and unemployment benefits (Form 1099-G) | Tax refunds for years prior to the preceding year |
| Self-employed income (Forms 1099-NEC, 1099-K) or other small business income. We will prepare a Schedule C | Schedule C with net loss, depreciation, or business use of home Small businesses with employees, inventory, or using accrual method of accounting |
| Gambling winnings (Form W-2G) | |
| Cancellation of Debt (Form 1099-C) | Business debt, bankruptcy |
| Health savings accounts (Form 1099-SA) | Archer, Medicare Advantage HSA |
| Adjustments to income and itemized deductions Non-cash charitable donations over $500 in-scope for AARP Tax-Aide only |
Returns with casualty/disaster losses Charitable donations of cars, boats, real estate |
| Education credits (Form 1098-T) | Recapture of prior education credit (1098-T Box 4 or 6) |
| Premium tax credit (Form 1095-A) | |
| Child tax credit, earned income credit, and other miscellaneous credits | Forms 8615, 8814 for children’s unearned income (Kiddie Tax) |
| Residential Energy Credit (Form 5695) for enerty-efficient home improvements | Solar roofs, solar water heaters, wind energy, geothermal heat pumps |
| Application for individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) (Form W-7) | Form SS-8 (determination of worker status for purposes of federal employment taxes and income tax withholding) |
| Sale of Main Home (Form 1099-S). Personal residence only | Other real estate sales, business property, like-kind exchanges |
| Prior year and amended returns | Restrictions apply, contact the tax prep site |
If you have a tax issue on your tax return that is out-of-scope for the VITA/TCE program, please contact a paid tax preparer who is trained on that tax topic.