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Link & Learn Taxes linking volunteers to quality e-learning

 Link & Learn Taxes
Basic StudentIntermediate StudentAdvanced StudentMilitary StudentInternational StudentPuerto Rico StudentForeign Student

Tax Year 2008 Link & Learn Taxes e-Learning

Welcome to Link & Learn Taxes, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (VITA/TCE) e-learning course! This course is designed for individuals and groups who volunteer their time and knowledge to help fellow taxpayers complete their tax returns. You will be guided through the process of assisting taxpayers in preparing and filing Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040 returns.

If you are a returning student who served as a volunteer preparer for VITA/TCE in the past, and have received previous VITA/TCE training, you are encouraged to visit the Returning Student lesson that pertains to your area of expertise (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Military, or International). Click here to take the Returning Student course.

Thank you for volunteering your time to provide this much needed service. Enjoy the course.

Click here to find a number of helpful references. There are also Volunteer Quality Alerts that are intended to enhance the quality and help prepare accurate volunteer-prepared returns. Click here to find out about the latest tax law changes.


How to Take this Course

The following Link & Learn Taxes e-Learning courses represent a complete certification track:

  • Basic - Includes income from wages, interest and dividends, and tax credits (excluding education credits) for individuals and couples. All volunteers are required to take this course.
  • Intermediate - Includes all tax topics in the Basic course plus education credits, additional income topics (alimony, social security income, etc.), itemized deductions, adjustments to income, and some pension issues for individuals and families with no stock or sale of home considerations.
  • Advanced - Includes all tax topics in the Basic and Intermediate courses plus additional pension topics. Also covered are stock and sale of home issues for individuals and families.
  • Military - Includes the Advanced course with special emphasis on tax issues that affect U.S. Armed Forces members and their families, such as combat pay, moving expenses, etc.
  • International - Includes the Advanced course with special emphasis on international tax law for nonmilitary U.S. residents living outside the U.S., especially those served by U.S. embassies and consulates.
  • Puerto Rico (for U.S. citizens who are bona fide residents of Puerto Rico)
  • Foreign Student (for international students and scholars)

You should take the recommended course that pertains to your level of experience and to the type of taxpayers with whom you will be working. Read through each student description to identify which type of student you are. Ask your sponsor or Site Coordinator for assistance if you are unsure which course you should take.

NOTE: To receive the full benefits of the interactive functionality of this online course, you must have Javascript enabled on your computer. If you cannot enable Javascript on your computer, an alternative copy of the printed product is available at a volunteer center or through irs.gov.

You also need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or later loaded onto your computer. For further information about the forms used in Link & Learn Taxes or to download Acrobat Reader, please click here.

Site Coordinators

The 2009 filing season Site Coordinator's Workshop training can be launched by clicking here.

To print various scenarios, forms, and agreements, we recommend that you have access to a printer as you work through Link & Learn Taxes.

To see all certification paths, click here.