VITA is Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. You do all this training, and voila, you are certified to help people who meet certain criteria file their tax returns.

I planned to finish this training today, but I am only on slide 104 of 159. “But Kel!” you say, “That sounds like you’re nearly done!”

Ah yes, nearly done with the third topic. Of approximately a million topics. Or maybe more like 50. But still, not even close.

I would just take the test, and see if I pass, but I keep failing the mini-quizzes that come immediately after the topic I’m quizzed on. Nevertheless, I’m confident I can fill those taxes out correctly!

Update: I went ahead and just took the test and used IRS.gov to help me along. I magically passed! First try! I thought for sure I would fail because you have to calculate exact numbers for some, but it seems like I actually got those ones right, and got the parts I studied wrong. Go figure!

I participated in this program last year, and none of these topics came up. Although I am doing the “basic” certification, the issues are far more complex than any I was faced with last year. For example, they are teaching us about who gets to claim someone as a dependent if like 5 people all contributed to that person’s support during the year.

Last year my partner and I got all of the dependent children, so that was a snap. Oh, and a sweet old man who had only military income, and no dependents or anything. Dependents make taxes complicated!

I will be doing the VITA day next Saturday, so I’ll be sure to post about it!

Photo by: sxc.hu/br0

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a talk given by a tax attorney from an accounting consulting firm. He explained to us how it is not financially feasible for companies to go green without taking advantage of all of the green tax credits available to them for implementing green technology. The accounting firm he works for helps these firms structure deals so that they can get the maximum benefit possible from these tax credits. Without accountants such as himself, he said, no companies would go green, because they wouldn’t be able to afford it.

There are green tax benefits available to individuals too. If you are thinking of going green, with your car or your home, be sure to talk to your tax accountant for advice on how to get the most tax benefit.

Check out these links about a few of the tax benefits available to get some ideas about tax-friendly ways to go green:
Cars that Qualify for Green Tax Credit
Energy Credits for Homeowner