II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 816 

To facilitate nationwide availability of volunteer income tax assistance for 

low-income and underserved populations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To facilitate nationwide availability of volunteer income tax 

assistance for low-income and underserved populations, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Volunteer Income Tax 

5 Assistance (VITA) Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Community Volunteer Income Tax Assist9 ance (VITA) programs offer tax preparation and re10 lated financial services, free of charge, to middleVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:39 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S816.IS S816

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1 and low-income individuals and families. The major2 ity of individuals served by VITA programs have an3 nual household earnings below $40,000. 

4 (2) During the 2009 Federal income tax filing 

5 season, VITA programs filed 1,200,000 Federal in6 come tax returns and prepared more than 400,000 

7 returns for the earned income tax credit (EITC), 

8 helping program recipients claim $1,600,000,000 in 

9 Federal tax refunds. An estimated 25 percent of 

10 households eligible for the EITC do not claim the 

11 credit. 

12 (3) VITA programs assist underserved tax13 payers, including low-wage workers, persons with 

14 disabilities, the elderly, Native Americans, rural pop15 ulations, and taxpayers with limited English pro16 ficiency. 

17 (4) Volunteer tax preparation programs save 

18 the Internal Revenue Service an estimated 

19 $1,800,000 a year in return processing costs. In 

20 2009, clients of VITA programs electronically filed 

21 their tax returns at a much higher rate (92 percent) 

22 than the general population (68 percent). 

23 (5) Not only do electronic returns cost the In24 ternal Revenue Service considerably less to process 

25 ($0.35 per return) than paper returns ($2.87 per reVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:39 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S816.IS S816

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1 turn), but electronic returns also generate a low 

2 error rate of 2.5 percent compared to a 25 percent 

3 error rate for paper returns. Low error rates reduce 

4 the need for the Internal Revenue Service to cor5 respond with taxpayers and for taxpayers to resub6 mit paperwork. 

7 (6) The use of technology in meeting the needs 

8 of taxpayers with physical, sensory, or cognitive dis9 abilities is essential to the success of the VITA pro10 gram, as demonstrated through the expanded use of 

11 innovative assistive technology and strategies in12 tended to expand free tax preparation for deaf and 

13 hearing impaired taxpayers. These innovative uses of 

14 assistive technologies should continue to be rep15 licated and tested to expand capacity of VITA pro16 grams in successfully meeting the needs of taxpayers 

17 with various disabilities. 

18 (7) An Internal Revenue Service survey has 

19 shown that very low-income taxpayers are twice as 

20 likely as the general population to visit a Taxpayer 

21 Assistance Center and half as likely to use the Inter22 nal Revenue Service Web site. Volunteer tax prepa23 ration programs serve as an accessible and cost-ef24 fective alternative to other Internal Revenue Service 

25 channels. 


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1 (8) Internal Revenue Service estimates from fis2 cal year 2005 found that the volunteer preparation 

3 program cost $12.01 per contact, while Taxpayer 

4 Assistance Centers and assisted toll-free calls aver5 aged $28.73 and $19.46 per contact, respectively. 

6 (9) The number of tax returns prepared by the 

7 VITA program increased 155 percent between the 

8 2004 (500,000) and 2009 (1,200,000 returns) tax 

9 filing seasons. 

10 (10) The demand on this integral community 

11 service continues to rise due to the current economic 

12 downturn and VITA programs are experiencing 

13 strained resources and limited capacity. 

14 (11) During the 2009 tax filing season, tax15 payers applied for 9,900,000 refund anticipation 

16 loans and spent an estimated $733,000,000 in fees. 

17 Refund anticipation loans are especially prevalent 

18 among low- and extremely low-income taxpayers. 

19 Free tax preparation programs serve over 3,000,000 

20 taxpayers each year, thereby reducing reliance on 

21 these other costly alternatives. 

22 (12) In fiscal year 2009, 379 organizations ap23 plied to the Internal Revenue Service for over 

24 $30,000,000 in grant funding through the VITA 


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1 program, and 147 received grants at a median grant 

2 of $35,000. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 As used in this Act: 

5 (1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO6 GRAM.—The term ‘‘qualified return preparation pro7 gram’’ means any program— 

8 (A) which provides assistance to individ9 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are low10 income taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed11 eral income tax returns, including schedules re12 porting sole proprietorship or farm income, 

13 (B) which is administered by a qualified 

14 entity, 

15 (C) in which all of the volunteers who as16 sist in the preparation of Federal income tax 

17 returns meet the training requirements pre18 scribed by the Secretary, and 

19 (D) which uses a quality review process 

20 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

21 (2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified en23 tity’’ means any entity which— 

24 (i) is described in subparagraph (B), 


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1 (ii) is in compliance with Federal tax 

2 filing and payment requirements, 

3 (iii) is not debarred or suspended 

4 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera5 tive agreements, and 

6 (iv) agrees to provide documentation 

7 to substantiate any matching funds pro8 vided under the VITA grant program. 

9 (B) ENTITY DESCRIBED.—An entity is de10 scribed in this subparagraph if such entity is— 

11 (i) an institution of higher education 

12 which is described in section 102 (other 

13 than subsection (a)(1)(C) thereof) of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 1088), as in effect on the date of the en16 actment of this section, and which has not 

17 been disqualified from participating in a 

18 program under title IV of such Act, 

19 (ii) an organization described in sec20 tion 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

21 of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec22 tion 501(a) of such Code, 

23 (iii) a State or local government agen24 cy, including— 


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1 (I) a county or municipal govern2 ment agency, 

3 (II) an Indian tribe, as defined in 

4 section 4(12) of the Native American 

5 Housing Assistance and Self-Deter6 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

7 4103(12)), including any tribally des8 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

9 section 4(21) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 

10 4103(21))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi11 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en12 tity, and 

13 (III) a State government agency, 

14 but only if no other eligible organiza15 tion is available to assist the targeted 

16 population or community, 

17 (iv) local, State, regional, or national 

18 coalition (with one lead organization which 

19 meets the eligibility requirements of clause 

20 (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the applicant or21 ganization), or 

22 (v) a Cooperative Extension Service 

23 office, but only if no other eligible organi24 zation is available to assist the targeted 

25 population or community. 


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1 (3) LOW-INCOME TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘‘low2 income taxpayer’’ means a taxpayer who has an ad3 justed gross income which does not exceed 250 per4 cent of the poverty level, as determined in accord5 ance with criteria established by the Director of the 

6 Office of Management and Budget. 

7 (4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 

8 ‘‘underserved population’’ includes populations of 

9 persons with disabilities, persons with limited 

10 English proficiency, Native Americans, individuals 

11 living in rural areas, and the elderly. 

12 (5) LEAD NATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘lead national organization’’ means an organization 

14 described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue 

15 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

16 501(a) of such Code which has demonstrated, to the 

17 satisfaction of the Secretary— 

18 (A) capacity in a minimum of 15 States, 

19 territories, or tribal areas, 

20 (B) expertise in the provision of tax prepa21 ration services to low-income taxpayers and un22 derserved populations, 

23 (C) an ability to train program leadership 

24 and staff, 


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1 (D) capacity to disseminate information 

2 throughout the United States, and 

3 (E) capacity to— 

4 (i) maintain a Web site through which 

5 information is disseminated in an easily ac6 cessible manner, and 

7 (ii) to provide technical assistance and 

8 training through Web-based technologies. 

9 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del11 egate. 

12 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAIL13 ABILITY OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSIST14 ANCE FOR LOW-INCOME AND UNDERSERVED 

15 POPULATIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Inter17 nal Revenue Service, shall establish a Community Volun18 teer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program 

19 (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘VITA grant 

20 program’’). Except as otherwise provided in this section, 

21 the VITA grant program shall be administered in the 

22 same manner as the Community Volunteer Income Tax 

23 Assistance matching grants demonstration program estab24 lished under title I of division D of the Consolidated Ap25 propriations Act, 2008. 


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1 (b) MATCHING GRANTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

3 available grants under the VITA grant program to 

4 provide matching funds for the development, expan5 sion, or continuation of qualified return preparation 

6 programs assisting low-income taxpayers and mem7 bers of underserved populations. 

8 (2) APPLICATION.—In order to be eligible for a 

9 grant under this section, a qualified return prepara10 tion program shall submit an application to the Sec11 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

12 such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

13 require for each fiscal year. 

14 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

15 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica16 tions— 

17 (A) demonstrating assistance to low-in18 come taxpayers, with emphasis on outreach to 

19 and services for persons with an adjusted gross 

20 income at or below 250 percent of the Federal 

21 poverty level, as determined in accordance with 

22 criteria established by the Director of the Office 

23 of Management and Budget, 

24 (B) demonstrating taxpayer outreach and 

25 education around available income supports and 


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1 refundable credits such as the earned income 

2 tax credit under section 32 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986, and 

4 (C) demonstrating specific outreach and 

5 focus on one or more underserved populations. 

6 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Qualified return prepara7 tion programs receiving a grant under this section 

8 may use the grant for— 

9 (A) ordinary and necessary costs associ10 ated with program operation in accordance with 

11 Cost Principles Circulars as set forth by the Of12 fice of Management and Budget, 

13 (B) outreach and educational activities re14 lating to eligibility and availability of income 

15 supports available through the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986, such as the earned income tax 

17 credit, and 

18 (C) services related to financial literacy, 

19 asset development, and the establishment of 

20 savings accounts in connection with tax return 

21 preparation. 

22 (5) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), a grant awarded under this 

25 section shall be for a period of 1 year and shall 


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1 not be renewed other than through an applica2 tion under paragraph (2). 

3 (B) EXTENDED GRANTS.—The Secretary 

4 may award a grant under this section for a pe5 riod of not more than 3 years to any qualified 

6 return preparation program which— 

7 (i) received a grant under this section 

8 for the preceding year, and 

9 (ii) received a score of 90 percent or 

10 better on a technical evaluation. 

11 (c) PROMOTION AND REFERRAL.— 

12 (1) PROMOTION.—The Secretary shall promote 

13 the benefits of, and encourage the use of, tax prepa14 ration through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 

15 program through the use of mass communications, 

16 referrals, and other means. 

17 (2) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE REFER18 RALS.—The Secretary may refer taxpayers to quali19 fied return preparation programs receiving funding 

20 under this section. 

21 (3) VITA GRANTEE REFERRAL.—Qualified re22 turn preparation programs receiving a grant under 

23 this section are encouraged to refer, as appropriate, 

24 to local or regional Low Income Tax Clinics individVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:39 Apr 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S816.IS S816

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1 uals who are eligible to receive services at such clin2 ics. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

5 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, there are au6 thorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 to carry 

7 out the purposes of this section. 

8 (2) RESERVATION.—From the funds appro9 priated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the 

10 Secretary shall reserve not more than 3 percent for 

11 administration of the program. 

12 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur13 suant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall remain 

14 available without fiscal year limitation until ex15 pended. 

16 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CENTER TO PROMOTE QUALITY, EXCEL17 LENCE, AND EVALUATION IN VOLUNTEER IN18 COME TAX ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) NATIONAL CENTER TO PROMOTE QUALITY, EX20 CELLENCE, AND EVALUATION IN VOLUNTEER INCOME

21 TAX ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab23 lished the National Center to Promote Quality, Ex24 cellence, and Evaluation in Volunteer Income Tax 


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1 Assistance (hereinafter in this section referred to as 

2 the ‘‘Center’’). 

3 (2) PURPOSE.—The Center shall— 

4 (A) promote the adoption of a universally 

5 accessible volunteer training platform for the 

6 preparation of Federal income tax returns, 

7 (B) provide capacity-building technical as8 sistance to qualified return preparation pro9 gram managers, 

10 (C) identify and disseminate best practices 

11 related to tax site management emerging from 

12 States, community-based organizations, non13 profit providers, and local government entities, 

14 (D) support outreach and marketing ef15 forts to encourage the use of qualified return 

16 preparation programs receiving funding under 

17 section 4, and 

18 (E) provide evaluation of programs and ac19 tivities funded under this Act, including— 

20 (i) identification, both in aggregate 

21 and disaggregate, of gaps in services for 

22 low-income taxpayers and underserved pop23 ulations, and 


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1 (ii) independent evaluation of progress 

2 toward program objectives, as defined by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 (3) ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

6 (i) designate, through a competitive 

7 process, one qualified entity to be the lead 

8 national organization, and 

9 (ii) provide an annual grant to the 

10 lead national organization designated 

11 under clause (i). 

12 (B) DUTIES OF LEAD NATIONAL ORGANI13 ZATION.—The lead national organization shall 

14 use funds provided through the grant in sub15 paragraph (A)(ii) to— 

16 (i) carry out the purposes of the Cen17 ter, and 

18 (ii) make subgrants as provided in 

19 subsection (b). 

20 (b) SUBGRANTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lead national organiza22 tion shall make available subgrants to eligible orga23 nizations to facilitate specialized technical assistance 

24 in reaching one or more underserved populations. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—For purposes of 

2 this subsection, the term ‘‘eligible organization’’ 

3 means any organization which— 

4 (A) is described in section 501(c) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

6 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code, 

7 (B) has, to the satisfaction of the lead na8 tional organization, demonstrated expertise and 

9 evidenced-based practices in specialized out10 reach to, and service of, one or more under11 served populations, and 

12 (C) has, to the satisfaction of the lead na13 tional organization, demonstrated expertise in 

14 the provision of specialized technical assistance 

15 relating to qualified return preparation pro16 grams for one or more targeted underserved 

17 populations. 

18 (3) APPLICATION.—In order to be eligible for a 

19 subgrant under this subsection, an eligible organiza20 tion shall submit an application to the lead national 

21 organization at such time, in such manner, and con22 taining such information as the lead national organi23 zation may reasonably require for each fiscal year. 


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1 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible organization 

2 which receives a subgrant under this subsection shall 

3 assist the Center by— 

4 (A) providing technical assistance to quali5 fied return preparation programs with targeted 

6 outreach and assistance to one or more under7 served populations, and 

8 (B) including strategies for the provision 

9 of technical assistance targeting individuals and 

10 families with annual household earnings at or 

11 below 250 percent of the poverty line within the 

12 underserved populations served by the subgrant. 

13 (5) SUBGRANT AMOUNT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the lead na15 tional organization shall make available sub16 grants which, in the aggregate, do not exceed 

17 40 percent of the grant received under sub18 section (a). 

19 (B) UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—Of the 

20 amount of subgrants provided under subpara21 graph (A)— 

22 (i) not less than 25 percent shall be 

23 dedicated to specialized technical assist24 ance in serving taxpayers with disabilities, 


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1 (ii) not less than 25 percent shall be 

2 dedicated to specialized technical assist3 ance in serving limited English speaking 

4 taxpayers, and 

5 (iii) not less than 25 percent shall be 

6 dedicated to specialized technical assist7 ance in serving Native American taxpayers. 

8 (6) DURATION OF SUBGRANTS.—A subgrant 

9 awarded under this subsection shall be for a period 

10 of 1 year and shall not be renewed other than 

11 through an application under paragraph (3). 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

14 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, there are au15 thorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 

16 the purposes of this section. 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur18 suant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall remain 

19 available without fiscal year limitation until ex20 pended. 

Æ 


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