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ACC 350 Project One Guidelines and Rubric

Competencies

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:

• Apply tax laws to diverse financial situations
• Prepare individual income tax returns using VITA technology

Overview

Throughout this course, you have used your knowledge of tax guidelines, the codification, and regulations to assist clients in preparing tax returns specific to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program requirements.

Scenario

You are a volunteer income tax assistant (VITA volunteer) in a local community service organization. As a VITA volunteer, you are responsible for meeting with diverse taxpayers including low-to-moderate income, elderly, disabled, and/or those clients who may lack English language proficiency to prepare their tax returns. You determine taxpayer eligibility for services based on VITA guidelines and regulations and the VITA intake and review process. Your site coordinator would like you to describe the VITA program and how VITA volunteers operate within the programs guidelines and regulations to complete VITA client tax returns. Use three scenarios based on the Advanced Test provided within the Supporting Materials section to describe what youve learned in this course and how youve applied tax laws to VITA clients tax returns.

Directions

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Describe how information provided on an intake form in each scenario can determine VITA program eligibility. Consider the following:
   1. Disqualifiers for VITA
2. Interpret tax laws, regulations, codification, and filing statuses as they apply to the VITA program. Include the following:
   1. How tax laws, regulations, and codification apply to VITA clients
   2. How various filing statuses apply to VITA clients
      1. Provide reasoning used in selecting the filing status for each scenario.
   3. Two or three examples of how tax laws, regulations, and the codification are used in each scenario
3. Differentiate the various types of 1040 tax forms and supporting schedules in each scenario.
4. Justify the importance of communicating the difference between taxable and nontaxable income to VITA clients. Include the following:
   1. Two or three examples of taxable income for each scenario
   2. Two or three examples of nontaxable income for each scenario
5. Describe when to apply deductions versus credits for various VITA clients using each scenario. Include the following:
   1. Provide itemized versus standard deduction examples.
6. Describe the importance of inputting information directly from intake sheets and tax documents into VITA tax software for each scenario.
7. Describe the tools and procedures used to prepare an accurate tax return according to VITA for each scenario.
   1. Tools include software and VITA-specific documentation that allow you to prepare a tax return.
8. Describe the steps of the intake and review process used for each scenario. Include the following:
   1. Differentiate the VITA tax return process from the non-VITA tax return process.
   2. Outline the quality review process in detail.
9. Describe how to input information into VITA tax software for each scenario. Consider the following:
   1. Value
   2. Accuracy
   3. Speed
   4. Real-time updates to laws, regulations, and the codification
   5. Reporting
   6. Research
10. Explain how a correct tax liability is obtained using the VITA tax software in each scenario. Consider the following:
    1. Total Tax line-item amount on Form 1040
    2. Tax tables
    3. Correct input of data
       1. Filing status
       2. Intake sheet validation
       3. Accuracy

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