In a request for information (RFI) released Thursday, the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) is seeking responses around “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and ITIN Application Services.” At more than 9.8 million residents – about a quarter of the state’s population – Los Angeles County is the nation’s most populated county, but one where thousands of residents are in financial straits and “refundable tax credits for low-moderate income households” could be a tremendous boon. DCBA’s Center for Financial Empowerment (CFE) works to “increase awareness of the state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits” and improve access to free tax preparation for those households. Among the takeaways:
- The CFE has funding from the California Department of Community Services and Development and the State Franchise Tax Board to drive awareness of state and federal refundable tax credits. The funding can also go toward supporting “Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) application assistance to noncitizen Californians who may be eligible to acquire an ITIN.” CFE plans to use this funding to support “taxpayers in underserved areas of Los Angeles County”; increase the number of eligible state residents who file tax returns during the 2022 tax filing season; and increase usage of the earned income tax credit and similar credits. The RFI seeks to “identify interest from qualified local community-based organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation” with at least three years’ experience delivering “in-person and remote (volunteer income tax assistance) VITA services to qualified taxpayers”; to recruit, train and maintain a network of IRS-certified VITA volunteers and site coordinators, some of whom are bilingual in English and Spanish; and to have either in-house staff or a subcontractor that are IRS Certified Acceptance Agents and can help “noncitizens” apply for an ITIN. RFI respondents must be able to deliver the full scope of services sought either alone or with county-approved subs.
- The program administrator will be required to “arrange for a call-in and/or online system” through which possible clients can book appointments and learn about the documents they’ll need to bring with them when actually obtaining services. The system must have call-in and/or web-based options and must enable client pre-screenings for eligibility. The program administrator must use IRS-provided TaxSlayer return preparation software to compile program reports. Event staffers must “electronically file federal and state” tax returns for the taxpayers being assisted – though paper filing may be needed for identity theft victims or people whose tax returns are rejected by e-file. Staffers must also make sure electronic returns “are filed and transmitted to the IRS via a secure software program.” They must also prepare and “electronically file applicable federal and state income tax forms for taxpayers for the previous tax year,” if the person “neglected to file” and has the documents needed to file.
- Minimum requirements for interested companies include three years’ experience during the last five years as a VITA and ITIN application service provider for Los Angeles County or another large metropolitan area. Respondents should indicate prior experience providing “direct VITA preparation,” and ITIN application assistance services to taxpayers “specifically in hard-to-reach populations and/or underserved communities”; and should indicate “existing relationships with culturally specific community-based organizations or groups with the capacity to act as service providers and provide program services” to the target communities. The overall target sought via this project, should it go forward, is 2,000 completed tax filings and 250 completed ITIN applications. Target communities are the cities of El Monte, Pomona, Compton, Long Beach, Huntington Park and Lancaster; and the unincorporated areas of East Los Angeles, Florence-Firestone and Willowbrook.
- Questions on the RFI are due by Friday; responses will come Nov. 11. Responses to the RFI are due by 2 p.m. Nov. 18.
