The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiative in the United States that supports free tax preparation service for the underserved through various partner organizations.
VITA service helps low- to moderate-income individuals, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited English speakers file their taxes each year.
Since the 1970s the program has grown to several thousand sites nationwide, partnering with non-profit organizations, local municipalities, and colleges and universities.
VITA volunteers include greeters, intake specialists, and tax preparers.
The statistics researched by the non-profit Prosperity Now proves VITA to be a relevant necessity in poverty reduction.
Specifically, the bill “directs the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continuation of tax preparation programs to assist low-income taxpayers and members of under-served populations.”