Vermont presenters urge expanded support for volunteer tax‑assistance programs

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, representatives of Vermont’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) network and AARP’s Tax‑Aide program told the House Ways & Means Committee that their volunteer tax‑preparation services reach low‑ and moderate‑income Vermonters, help people claim state and federal credits, and need steady funding and more volunteers to expand year‑round assistance.

Liz Scharf, director of Community Economic Development and Food Security at Capstone Community Action, described the statewide Community Action Network’s VITA program and a formal funding request. “We are able to help folks prepare and file their taxes for free if they earn $67,000 or less,” Scharf said, adding that the network is seeking an increase of $148,000 for VITA over the current $400,000 base allocation and is part of a larger $1,650,000 base funding request that would cover three related financial capability programs (micro‑business development, VITA, and financial coaching).

Scharf said the Community Action Network operates year‑round in five agencies across Vermont, runs volunteer training and IRS/state certification, and maintains at least one full‑time tax program coordinator per agency to handle outreach, volunteer recruitment and year‑round client needs such as responding to IRS notices and filing prior years’ returns (the network’s software allows filing back about three years plus the current year). She told the committee the network had 118 volunteers in the last tax year and filed a little over 5,000 returns statewide; refunds returned to clients totaled about $4,741,000, including roughly $2,600,000 in tax credits.

Collin Hilliard, advocacy director for AARP Vermont, said AARP Tax‑Aide served roughly 7,100 clients in Vermont last year with 214 volunteers at 65 locations and returned just over $5,000,000 in refunds. He said the Tax‑Aide program provides an annual Vermont‑specific training in addition to IRS preparer certification and that the program focuses on lower‑ and moderate‑income people age 50 and older while referring out returns that are out of scope.

Both presenters described outreach challenges: many eligible people do not use free services because they prefer paid preparers or are unaware the free programs exist; other barriers include geography in the Northeast Kingdom and language access for non‑English speakers. Scharf described ad hoc partnerships to serve non‑English speakers (for example, a volunteer‑arranged day for members of the Afghan community) and noted a free, IRS‑provided phone interpreter service.

Committee members asked about volunteer recruitment, training, Vermont‑specific software updates and coordination with the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate and state agencies. Scharf said the VITA network uses TaxSlayer for preparation, that TaxSlayer updates state rules but program coordinators provide Vermont‑specific training to volunteers, and that community action agencies coordinate with the Treasurer’s Office and the Office of Economic Opportunity for some funding. Hilliard said Tax‑Aide provides a multi‑day Vermont training on top of IRS certification and that financing for Tax‑Aide comes from a combination of AARP, the AARP Foundation, IRS support and philanthropic sources.

No formal committee action or vote was recorded on the funding request during the session. Committee members suggested amplifying outreach, sharing pre‑written messaging for social media and recruiting volunteers from colleges, high schools and local communities. Both presenters said they routinely refer clients between the two programs and to paid professionals when returns exceed program scope.

The discussion closed with committee appreciation for the volunteer programs; the committee took a break at the end of the session and did not record any formal motion or decision related to the funding request during this hearing.