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.
| 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.