How to Prepare for your VITA Appointment

For VITA to prepare your complete and accurate tax return, you must provide complete and accurate information. Please understand that your tax return is only as accurate as the information you provide.

For more details regarding specific documents you will need to have available, please see our helpful checklists, below. What you need to file your taxes varies depending on your situation. For example, if you worked for an employer you will receive a W-2 reporting the income you earned. If you or your dependent is a college student, you may need a 1098-T form to claim eligible credits. This website is intended as a general guideline to help you gather the necessary documents.

Once you have made an appointment, please complete this brief online intake form.*

* You will be answering many of the same questions when you complete your Intake and Interview Sheet, form 13614-C or -NR. We apologize for the duplication of effort, but it is important that we have this information to prepare in advance of your appointment date, and by law, we must have you fill out the paper form.

Please bring all documents complete and in hard copy. Electronic versions are not acceptable.
Incomplete forms waste valuable time and may result in the cancellation of your appointment.

Intake/Interview & Quality Review Sheet

All taxpayers having their tax return completed by a VITA site must provide a complete and accurate Intake/Interview & Quality Review Sheet.

Consent Forms

There are 2 consent forms regarding your tax data – why? – because the IRS requires your consent for each step we take with your data, such as the movement, collection, and use of your data. The following is a summary of each consent form, one of which is required for us to e-file your return.

IRS Form 15080 - Consent to Disclose Tax Return Information to VITA/TCE Tax Preparation Sites
If you are a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien, this form is included as page 4 of Form 13614-C, the Intake/Interview Quality Review Sheet.
This form allows TaxSlayer LLC, our tax software partner, to make your tax return information available to ANY volunteer site participating in the IRS's VITA/TCE program that you select to prepare a tax return in the next filing season. This means you will be able to visit any volunteer site using TaxSlayer next year and have your tax return populate with your current year data, regardless of where you filed your tax return this year. You are not required to complete this form to engage our tax return preparation services.

Consent to Disclose/Use Tax Return Information to the VITA Programs Relational Office
This consent form allows this site to share your entire tax return with our headquarters. This is mandatory to e-file. Why? Because this information is automatically shared in the e-filing process. If consent is not granted, the return cannot be e-filed. This also allows our main office to pull up your return to assist you after sites close at the end of the tax season.

Personal Information

To protect your identity and ensure that your personal information is accurate and secure, we will need to verify who you are. The IRS requires us to verify who you are with multiple forms of identity.

You will need to provide the following:

  1. Photo Identification, such as a driver's license, passport, or state-issued ID card
  2. Your (and your spouse's, if applicable) original social security card or other proof of your social security number, such as a statement from the Social Security Administration.

You will also need:

  1. If applicable, your spouse's full name, social security or tax ID number, and date of birth.
  2. Identity Protection PIN, if one has been issued to you, your spouse, or your dependent by the IRS
  3. Bank routing and account numbers to receive your refund by direct deposit or pay your balance due if you choose.

Dependent(s) Information

Dependents are either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative of the taxpayer. The taxpayer’s spouse cannot be claimed as a dependent. Some examples of dependents include a child, stepchild, brother, sister, or parent.

Parents and caregivers should gather this information, as applicable

  1. Dates of birth and social security numbers or tax ID numbers. Original social security cards for all individuals on the tax return are required.
  2. Records of amounts paid for the care of children under the age of 13 or disabled dependents (including the provider's tax ID number) to allow you (and your spouse, if applicable) to work or look for work.
  3. Income of dependents and of other adults in your home.
  4. Form 8332 showing that the child's custodial parent is releasing their right to claim a child to you, the noncustodial parent.

Sources of Income

Many of these forms won’t be needed to file taxes every year. For example, you will only receive the investment forms you need to file your taxes if you had distributions or other activity.

  • Employed
    • Forms W-2 (one for each job you or your spouse worked)
    • If you work at UConn, you can access your W-2 via Core-CT at ess.uconn.edu.  After logging into Core-CT, in the center of the page under "Payroll" select "View W-2/W-2c Forms."
  • Unemployed
    • Unemployment (1099-G)
  • Retirement Income
    • Pension/IRA/annuity income (1099-R)
    • Traditional IRA basis (i.e., amounts you contributed to the IRA that were already taxed)
    • Social security/RRB income (SSA-1099, RRB-1099)
  • Savings & Investments or Dividends
    • Interest, dividend income (1099-INT, 1099-DIV)
  • Other Income & Losses
    • Gambling income (W-2G or records showing income, as well as expense records)
    • Jury duty records
    • Prizes and awards (1099-MISC, box 3)
    • Record of alimony paid/received with ex-spouse’s name and SSN
    • State tax refund (only required if you itemized your deductions on your prior year tax return)

The following items, while required for an accurate tax return, if applicable, are out of scope for our program. If you have any of these types of income we will not be able to complete your tax return.

  • Self-Employed
    • Forms 1099, Schedules K-1, income records to verify amounts not reported on 1099-MISC or new 1099-NEC. This includes athletes receiving NIL income.
    • Records of all expenses — check registers or credit card statements, and receipts
    • Business-use asset information (cost, date placed in service, etc.) for depreciation
    • Office in home information, if applicable
    • Record of estimated tax payments made (Form 1040–ES)
  • Rental Income
    • Records of income and expenses
    • Rental asset information (cost, date placed in service, etc.) for depreciation
  • Savings & Investments or Dividends
    • Income from sales of stock or other property (1099-B, 1099-S)
    • Dates of acquisition and records of your cost or other basis in property you sold (if basis is not reported on 1099-B)
    • Health Savings Account and long-term care reimbursements (1099-SA or 1099-LTC)
    • Expenses related to your investments
    • Transactions involving cryptocurrency (Virtual currency)
  • Other Income & Losses
    • Hobby income and expenses
    • Trust income
    • Royalty Income 1099–MISC
    • Any other 1099s received

Adjustments and Deductions

The types of deductions you can take depend a lot on your life situation. It’s likely you won’t need all of the documents listed below for your taxes.

  • Educational Expenses
    • Forms 1098-T from educational institutions
    • Receipts that itemize additional qualified educational expenses
    • Records of any scholarships or fellowships you received
    • Form 1098-E if you paid student loan interest
  • K-12 Educator Expenses
    • Receipts for classroom expenses (for educators in grades K-12 who worked in the physical classroom for more than 900 hours during the tax year)
  • State & Local Property Taxes are only applicable to calculate a potential credit on your state of Connecticut tax return, and only if you are over 65 and/or have a dependent listed on your tax return.
    • Invoice showing the amount of personal property tax paid on vehicles or real estate to municipalities in the state of Connecticut during the tax year.
  • Retirement & Other Savings
    • Form 5498 showing IRA contributions
  • Home Ownership
    • Receipts for energy-saving home improvements (e.g., solar panels, solar water heater)
  • Charitable Donations
    • For years after 2021, charitable donations are only deductible if you itemize your deductions (see below), or if you are a nonresident alien. Such donations must be made to a qualifying organization.

The following items, while required for an accurate tax return, if applicable, are out of scope for our program. If you have any of these types of income we will not be able to complete your tax return.

Please note that generally speaking, itemizing your deductions is a good idea if the value of your itemized expenses is more than the value of the standard deduction. However, because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 more than doubled the standard deduction, most people who itemized their tax deductions prior to 2018 taxes will not benefit from itemizing their deductions on returns for 2018 and beyond.

  • Home Ownership (only applicable to those who itemize their deductions)
    • Forms 1098 or other mortgage interest statements
    • Real estate and personal property tax records
  • Charitable Donations [only applicable to those who itemize their deductions, however cash contributions of to $300 ($600 if married filing jointly) paid to qualified U.S. charitable organizations can be deducted by taxpayers who do not itemize.]
    • Records of non-cash charitable donations
    • Amounts of miles driven for charitable or medical purposes
  • Medical Expenses (only applicable to those who itemize their deductions)
    • Amounts paid for healthcare, insurance, and to doctors, dentists, and hospitals
    • Health Insurance
    • Form 1095-A if you enrolled in an insurance plan through the Marketplace (Exchange)
  • State & Local Taxes (except as noted above for the Connecticut income tax return, these types of taxes are only applicable to those who itemize their deductions)
    • Amount of state and local income or sales tax paid (other than wage withholding)
    • Invoice showing amount of vehicle sales tax paid and / or personal property tax on vehicles
  • Retirement & Other Savings
    • Form 5498-SA showing HSA contributions

*** Additional Requirements for Foreign Students and Scholars ***

If you are temporarily present in the U.S. on an F, J, M, or Q visa, you must bring the following additional documentation and/or information to your appointment.

  • Your passport.
  • A completed Nonresident Alien Intake and Interview Sheet. This is the same form linked in the "Intake/Interview and Quality Review Sheet, above.
  • Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record, if you have dates entering and departing the U.S. in 2022.
  • All Forms 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding
    • if you will be getting this form, we cannot complete your tax return until you have received it.  Please see our "How do I know if I'm getting a Form 1042-S" website to determine if you need to wait for this form.
    • If you are from a country with a treaty for both wage income and scholarship income, and you have both types of income, you will get two 1042-S forms. One will have code 20 (for wages) in box 1 and the other will have code 16 (for scholarship income) in box 1.

We are in person! Directions to Our VITA Location can be found here.