II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 996 

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 16, 2015 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. STABENOW, and Mr. HEINRICH) 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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Community Volunteer Income Tax Assist9 ance (VITA) programs offer tax preparation and reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996

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1 lated financial services, free of charge, to middle2 and low-income individuals and families. The major3 ity of individuals served by VITA programs have an4 nual household earnings below $53,000. 

5 (2) During the 2014 Federal income tax filing 

6 season, VITA programs filed 1,700,000 Federal in7 come tax returns and prepared more than 551,000 

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

9 helping program recipients claim $2,475,000,000 in 

10 Federal tax refunds. One in five taxpayers who were 

11 eligible to claim the EITC failed to do so. 

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 $6,200,000 a year in return processing costs. In 

20 2014, clients of VITA programs electronically filed 

21 their tax returns at a much higher rate (95.8 per22 cent) than the general population (85.6 percent). 

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

25 ($0.17 per return) than paper returns ($3.66 per reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Apr 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S996.IS S996

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1 turn), but electronic returns also generate a low 

2 error rate of 2.5 percent compared with 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 220 percent between the 

8 2004 (500,000) and 2012 (1,600,000 returns) tax 

9 filing seasons. 

10 (10) The demand on this integral community 

11 service continues to rise as the Nation recovers from 

12 the significant economic downturn of recent years 

13 and VITA programs are experiencing strained re14 sources and limited capacity. 

15 (11) Through mid-April of fiscal year 2015, 

16 288 organizations applied to the Internal Revenue 

17 Service seeking more than $25,100,000 in grant 

18 funding—more than double the available resources— 

19 through the VITA program, and 209 received grants 

20 at a median grant of approximately $42,000. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 As used in this Act: 

23 (1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO24 GRAM.—The term ‘‘qualified return preparation pro25 gram’’ means any program— 


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1 (A) which provides assistance to individ2 uals, not less than 90 percent of whom are low3 income taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed4 eral income tax returns, including schedules re5 porting sole proprietorship or farm income, 

6 (B) which is administered by a qualified 

7 entity, 

8 (C) in which all of the volunteers who as9 sist in the preparation of Federal income tax 

10 returns meet the training requirements pre11 scribed by the Secretary, and 

12 (D) which uses a quality review process 

13 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

14 (2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified en16 tity’’ means any entity which— 

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

18 (ii) is in compliance with Federal tax 

19 filing and payment requirements, 

20 (iii) is not debarred or suspended 

21 from Federal contracts, grants, or coopera22 tive agreements, and 

23 (iv) agrees to provide documentation 

24 to substantiate any matching funds pro25 vided under the VITA grant program. 


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1 (B) ENTITY DESCRIBED.—An entity is de2 scribed in this subparagraph if such entity is— 

3 (i) an institution of higher education 

4 which is described in section 102 (other 

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

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

7 1088), as in effect on the date of the en8 actment of this section, and which has not 

9 been disqualified from participating in a 

10 program under title IV of such Act, 

11 (ii) an organization described in sec12 tion 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec14 tion 501(a) of such Code, 

15 (iii) a State or local government agen16 cy, including— 

17 (I) a county or municipal govern18 ment agency, 

19 (II) an Indian tribe, as defined in 

20 section 4(12) of the Native American 

21 Housing Assistance and Self-Deter22 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

23 4103(12)), including any tribally des24 ignated housing entity (as defined in 

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


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1 4103(21))), tribal subsidiary, subdivi2 sion, or other wholly owned tribal en3 tity, and 

4 (III) a State government agency, 

5 but only if no other eligible organiza6 tion is available to assist the targeted 

7 population or community, 

8 (iv) a local, State, regional, or na9 tional coalition (with one lead organization 

10 which meets the eligibility requirements of 

11 clause (i), (ii), or (iii) acting as the appli12 cant organization), or 

13 (v) a Cooperative Extension Service 

14 office, but only if no other eligible organi15 zation is available to assist the targeted 

16 population or community. 

17 (3) LOW-INCOME TAXPAYERS.—The term ‘‘low18 income taxpayer’’ means a taxpayer who has an in19 come which does not exceed 250 percent of the pov20 erty level, as determined in accordance with criteria 

21 established by the Director of the Office of Manage22 ment and Budget. 

23 (4) UNDERSERVED POPULATION.—The term 

24 ‘‘underserved population’’ includes populations of 

25 persons with disabilities, persons with limited 


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1 English proficiency, Native Americans, individuals 

2 living in rural areas, and the elderly. 

3 (5) LEAD NATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘lead national organization’’ means an organization 

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

6 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

7 501(a) of such Code which has demonstrated, to the 

8 satisfaction of the Secretary— 

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

10 territories, or tribal areas, 

11 (B) expertise in the provision of tax prepa12 ration services to low-income taxpayers and un13 derserved populations, 

14 (C) an ability to train program leadership 

15 and staff, 

16 (D) capacity to disseminate information 

17 throughout the United States, and 

18 (E) capacity to— 

19 (i) maintain a Web site through which 

20 information is disseminated in an easily ac21 cessible manner, and 

22 (ii) provide technical assistance and 

23 training through Web-based technologies. 


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

2 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del3 egate. 

4 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO FACILITATE NATIONWIDE AVAIL5 ABILITY OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSIST6 ANCE FOR LOW-INCOME AND UNDERSERVED 

7 POPULATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Inter9 nal Revenue Service, shall establish a Community Volun10 teer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program 

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

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

13 the VITA grant program shall be administered in the 

14 same manner as the Community Volunteer Income Tax 

15 Assistance matching grants demonstration program estab16 lished under title I of division D of the Consolidated Ap17 propriations Act, 2008. 

18 (b) MATCHING GRANTS.— 

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

20 available grants under the VITA grant program to 

21 provide matching funds for the development, expan22 sion, or continuation of qualified return preparation 

23 programs assisting low-income taxpayers and mem24 bers of underserved populations. 


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

2 grant under this section, a qualified return prepara3 tion program shall submit an application to the Sec4 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

5 such information as the Secretary may reasonably 

6 require for each fiscal year. 

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

8 section, the Secretary shall give priority to applica9 tions— 

10 (A) demonstrating assistance to low-in11 come taxpayers, with emphasis on outreach to 

12 and services for persons with an income at or 

13 below 250 percent of the Federal poverty level, 

14 as determined in accordance with criteria estab15 lished by the Director of the Office of Manage16 ment and Budget, 

17 (B) demonstrating taxpayer outreach and 

18 education around available income supports and 

19 refundable credits such as the earned income 

20 tax credit under section 32 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986, and 

22 (C) demonstrating specific outreach and 

23 focus on one or more underserved populations. 


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1 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Qualified return prepara2 tion programs receiving a grant under this section 

3 may use the grant for— 

4 (A) ordinary and necessary costs associ5 ated with program operation in accordance with 

6 Cost Principles Circulars as set forth by the Of7 fice of Management and Budget, 

8 (B) outreach and educational activities re9 lating to eligibility and availability of income 

10 supports available through the Internal Revenue 

11 Code of 1986, such as the earned income tax 

12 credit, and 

13 (C) services related to financial education 

14 and capability, asset development, and the es15 tablishment of savings accounts in connection 

16 with tax return preparation. 

17 (5) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

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

19 subparagraph (B), a grant awarded under this 

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

21 not be renewed other than through an applica22 tion under paragraph (2). 

23 (B) EXTENDED GRANTS.—The Secretary 

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1 riod of not more than 3 years to any qualified 

2 return preparation program which— 

3 (i) received a grant under this section 

4 for the preceding year, and 

5 (ii) received a score of 90 percent or 

6 better on a technical evaluation. 

7 (c) PROMOTION AND REFERRAL.— 

8 (1) PROMOTION.—The Secretary shall promote 

9 the benefits of, and encourage the use of, tax prepa10 ration through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 

11 program through the use of mass communications, 

12 referrals, and other means. 

13 (2) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE REFER14 RALS.—The Secretary may refer taxpayers to quali15 fied return preparation programs receiving funding 

16 under this section. 

17 (3) VITA GRANTEE REFERRAL.—Qualified re18 turn preparation programs receiving a grant under 

19 this section are encouraged to refer, as appropriate, 

20 to local or regional Low Income Tax Clinics individ21 uals who are eligible to receive services at such clin22 ics. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

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1 thorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 to carry 

2 out the purposes of this section. 

3 (2) RESERVATION.—From the funds appro4 priated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the 

5 Secretary shall reserve not more than 3 percent for 

6 administration of the program. 

7 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur8 suant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall remain 

9 available without fiscal year limitation until ex10 pended. 

11 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CENTER TO PROMOTE QUALITY, EXCEL12 LENCE, AND EVALUATION IN VOLUNTEER IN13 COME TAX ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) NATIONAL CENTER TO PROMOTE QUALITY, EX15 CELLENCE, AND EVALUATION IN VOLUNTEER INCOME

16 TAX ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab18 lished the National Center to Promote Quality, Ex19 cellence, and Evaluation in Volunteer Income Tax 

20 Assistance (hereinafter in this section referred to as 

21 the ‘‘Center’’). 

22 (2) PURPOSE.—The Center shall— 

23 (A) promote the adoption of a universally 

24 accessible volunteer training platform for the 

25 preparation of Federal income tax returns, 


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1 (B) provide capacity-building technical as2 sistance to qualified return preparation pro3 gram managers, 

4 (C) identify and disseminate best practices 

5 related to tax site management emerging from 

6 States, community-based organizations, non7 profit providers, and local government entities, 

8 (D) support outreach and marketing ef9 forts to encourage the use of qualified return 

10 preparation programs receiving funding under 

11 section 4, and 

12 (E) provide evaluation of programs and ac13 tivities funded under this Act, including— 

14 (i) identification, both in aggregate 

15 and disaggregate, of gaps in services for 

16 low-income taxpayers and underserved pop17 ulations, and 

18 (ii) independent evaluation of progress 

19 toward program objectives, as defined by 

20 the Secretary. 

21 (3) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

23 (i) designate, through a competitive 

24 process, one qualified entity to be the lead 

25 national organization, and 


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1 (ii) provide an annual grant to the 

2 lead national organization designated 

3 under clause (i). 

4 (B) DUTIES OF LEAD NATIONAL ORGANI5 ZATION.—The lead national organization shall 

6 use funds provided through the grant in sub7 paragraph (A)(ii) to— 

8 (i) carry out the purposes of the Cen9 ter, and 

10 (ii) make subgrants as provided in 

11 subsection (b). 

12 (b) SUBGRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The lead national organiza14 tion shall make available subgrants to eligible orga15 nizations to facilitate specialized technical assistance 

16 in reaching one or more underserved populations. 

17 (2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—For purposes of 

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

19 means any organization which— 

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

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 

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

23 (B) has, to the satisfaction of the lead na24 tional organization, demonstrated expertise and 

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1 reach to, and service of, one or more under2 served populations, and 

3 (C) has, to the satisfaction of the lead na4 tional organization, demonstrated expertise in 

5 the provision of specialized technical assistance 

6 relating to qualified return preparation pro7 grams for one or more targeted underserved 

8 populations. 

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

10 subgrant under this subsection, an eligible organiza11 tion shall submit an application to the lead national 

12 organization at such time, in such manner, and con13 taining such information as the lead national organi14 zation may reasonably require for each fiscal year. 

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

16 which receives a subgrant under this subsection shall 

17 assist the Center by— 

18 (A) providing technical assistance to quali19 fied return preparation programs with targeted 

20 outreach and assistance to one or more under21 served populations, and 

22 (B) including strategies for the provision 

23 of technical assistance targeting individuals and 

24 families with annual household earnings at or 


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1 below 250 percent of the poverty line within the 

2 underserved populations served by the subgrant. 

3 (5) SUBGRANT AMOUNT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the lead na5 tional organization shall make available sub6 grants which, in the aggregate, do not exceed 

7 40 percent of the grant received under sub8 section (a). 

9 (B) UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—Of the 

10 amount of subgrants provided under subpara11 graph (A)— 

12 (i) not less than 25 percent shall be 

13 dedicated to specialized technical assist14 ance in serving taxpayers with disabilities, 

15 (ii) not less than 25 percent shall be 

16 dedicated to specialized technical assist17 ance in serving limited English speaking 

18 taxpayers, and 

19 (iii) not less than 25 percent shall be 

20 dedicated to specialized technical assist21 ance in serving Native American taxpayers. 

22 (6) DURATION OF SUBGRANTS.—A subgrant 

23 awarded under this subsection shall be for a period 

24 of 1 year and shall not be renewed other than 

25 through an application under paragraph (3). 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

3 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, there are au4 thorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 

5 the purposes of this section. 

6 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur7 suant to the authority of paragraph (1) shall remain 

8 available without fiscal year limitation until ex9 pended. 

Æ 


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