12.17.07

Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc.

P. O. Box 1018

Boston, MA 02117

December 31, 2007

Dear CTA Volunteer: 

Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc. (CTA) is a non-profit corporation organized to provide tax preparation assistance to elderly and low-income taxpayers in Boston. Entering our 26th year of service, CTA was established in 1981 by Harvard Business School students and has prepared over 24,300 tax returns since its inception. While our primary goal is to aid taxpayers in fulfilling their civic and legal responsibilities, specifically, filing an accurate and timely tax return, we also help many taxpayers claim refunds that can make a significant difference to their personal financial situation.

CTA volunteers prepare tax returns for six weeks, one day a week for two to three hours, during the tax filing season from February 4, 2008 until March 15, 2008. There are center locations in various neighborhoods throughout the City of Boston, including Dorchester, Hyde Park, Brighton, Roxbury, South End and Charlestown. Our centers are located in neighborhood schools, and community centers, and CTA enjoys excellent relationships in all the communities that services are provided.

The centers are run by managers and assistant managers and are staffed with volunteers. Center managers, who review the volunteers’ work and provide technical assistance, are Boston-area accountants and lawyers from large and small firms and all have a minimum of two years tax experience. Our base of volunteers includes college students, professionals and other community volunteers who have attended a tax training seminar sponsored by Community Tax Aid.   The new volunteer seminar is offered in one class. Volunteers are instructed in both basic and intermediate tax concepts. Technical subjects include the earned income credit, the taxability of pensions and retirement benefits, the difference between Massachusetts and federal income, and credits for the elderly and for child and dependent day care expenses. Federal and Massachusetts tax forms are reviewed, and instructors walk through hypothetical returns with the volunteers.

CTA is a nonprofit organization as defined under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. CTA provides its services free, and its only source of funding is through private donations from individuals and corporate sponsors.   Any funding leads are welcome.

Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc., is ready to begin the 2008 tax season. We hope that you will be able to join us in preparing tax returns for the low-income and elderly taxpayers of Boston. Enclosed in this package you will find a volunteer application, a listing of the locations of the preparation centers and their days of operation, and a training schedule reminder. Please return the volunteer application at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions, or would like to get applications for friends and associates, please call Mary Dill at 617-572-7983 or Rick Siegrist at 978-266-4111 or email us at ctaboston@accountant.com. Check out our website at http://www.ctaboston.org/

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors

Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc.

Training Seminar Reminder

Where:

Training sessions will take place at Northeastern University in Dodge Hall or at WebMD Health Services office at 360 Mass Ave. in Acton.

Dodge Hall is located on Huntington Avenue next to the Ell Building and room assignments will be posted at the entrance.. Please note that Northeastern is T-accessible from the Green line at the Northeastern stop or on the Orange line at the Ruggles stop. In addition, parking is available for a fee at the Renaissance Garage on Columbus Avenue. If the weather is questionable, call the Northeastern snow line at 617-373-2000 before heading to training. A campus map is available at www.campusmap.neu.edu.

To attend the Acton, MA session, please call Rick Siegrist at 978-266-4111 for further information or see http://www.webmdhealthservices.com/whs/about/contact.htm

When: 

New Volunteer Training:

Returning Volunteer Training:     

Returning Volunteers are not required to attend the New Volunteer Training sessions, but are welcome to sit in. There are some important changes to the Federal return this year, so we encourage returning volunteers to attend the returning volunteer training.

What to bring: You should bring paper and a pen to take notes. A calculator maybe helpful, but is not required. All other materials will be supplied at the training sessions.

Questions:   If you have questions about the training sessions, please call Mary Dill at 617-572-7983 or email ctaboston@accountant.com. No confirmations will be sent for training.   Center assignments will be announced at training.

Volunteer Job Descriptions

Tax Preparer:

Tax Preparers interview tax clients using CTA provided guideline to determine filing status, income and possible exemptions, prepare federal and state returns where applicable, review the returns with the manager/assistant manager and present the results to the tax client.

Center Manager:

The Center Manager has prior tax experience and will be able to assist the other volunteers with technical questions and resolving issues. A center manager is responsible for running the center i.e., client assignments and general operations of the tax center.

Assistant Center Manger:

The Assistant Center Manager will assist in center operations. It is preferable that all assistant managers have some prior tax experience, but it is not required. Good organization skills will be beneficial in this position.

Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc.

Volunteer Information for 2008 Tax Season

Name________________________________________________________________________________

Street ________________________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________ State __________ Zip _________________________

Phones:   cell/home/work ________________________cell/lhome/work   __________________________

Affiliation (Company, School, Professional Organization)   _____________________________________

Email Address   ________________________________________________________________________

List the three centers you would like to work at in the 2008 tax season in order of preference:

1) _______________________ 2) ___________________________ 3) __________________________

                 name of center                                      name of center                                               name of center

Would you like to:

Which Training Session will you attend?

(Please check one session. Please make a note in your calendar; you will not receive a confirmation.)

__ New Volunteer training Saturday, January 19, 2008, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM @ Dodge Hall

__ New Volunteer training Saturday, January 26, 2008, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM @ Acton MA

__ Returning Volunteer training Saturday, January 19, 2008, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM   @ Dodge Hall

__ Returning Volunteer training Saturday, January 26, 2008, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM    @ Acton MA

Tentative List of Community Tax Aid Centers, Tax Season 2008