Tax Season Volunteers Make a Difference and Are Needed.

• Position: Volunteer accountants needed - Brief Article

For more than a century, lawyers and doctors have enhanced their professional lives and distinguished themselves by giving their services to the needy at no charge. Each individual CPA also can participate in a similar way. Each of us can make a difference.

Across the country, more and more active and retired CPAs from all segments of the profession--public, business and industry, government, not-for-profit, and education--make the time to help low-income people with their tax returns. They do this during tax season and their services are free. Many of the volunteers have tax experience but others are full-time auditors or accountants and find they benefit by helping others ... as they learn.

The services range from tax return preparation to representation before the IRS and state tax agencies. The people they help are the working poor and retirees. Many do not speak English. This is a growing difficulty as our federal and state tax laws and forms grow more complex, especially for people who have not done anything to complicate their tax lives.

Listed below are tax clinic programs led by tax professionals. They are looking for volunteers for next tax season who are CPAs or who work for CPAs. Each program is nonprofit and operates independently; some offer training programs that qualify for CPE credit. Several of the programs are now funded as Low-Income Tax Clinics and work with many legal aid and law school programs to provide professional tax help to the poor.

A surprising number of the low-income tax returns are complex and need a professional's advice. The volunteer work is without risk of preparer penalty since the definition of "preparer" requires compensation. It is a great way both to help in your community and for new staff to gain experience.

If you are in a supervisory position, consider a...