DeafTax  VITA

By:  Judy Stengel, National Resource Manager, Real Economic Impact Tour, National Disability Institute

“Taxpayers with disabilities often find themselves attempting to navigate and comply with a complex tax system that was not designed to provide equal access. Taxpayers who are blind, deaf, or have other disabilities encounter numerous barriers unique to these groups” (The 2006 National Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress) (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/2006_arc_vol_1_cover__section_1.pdf p376).

In 2008 Real Economic Impact Tour city leaders asked for assistance in how to best serve taxpayers who are Deaf.  A number of cities were providing taxpayers who are Deaf with tax assistance using methods such as passing notes back and forth or finding an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter to help (if resources were available) but felt that they needed tools and resources and policies and procedures to better accommodate the tax filing needs of the Deaf taxpayer.

DeafTax VITA is now in Phase II of a pilot undertaken by the National Disability Institute (NDI) through its signature project the Real Economic Impact Tour (REI Tour) in partnership with the IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC), DeafTax.com, and Schwarz Financial Services to explore ways to meet this need.  The purpose of the DeafTax VITA Pilot is to develop methods and procedures, using existing and new technology that would maximize the full inclusion and integration of Deaf taxpayers into society, employment, independent living, family support and economic and social self-sufficiency through full access to and utilization of existing tax services and credits. In addition, the pilot is intended to empower systems that currently provide free tax filing assistance with customized, comprehensive, coordinated and fully accessible state-of-the-art technology and education tools to serve Deaf taxpayers.

NDI researched with its Deaf partners the best communication device to use for the pilot and immediately found that the Video Relay Services (VRS) are fast replacing the antiquated analog means of communication for the Deaf community. An August 2008 Report found that video phones are fast replacing the telecommunication devices for the Deaf (TDD or TTY) because of their relatively low cost and widespread availability. The videophones have given Deaf people new possibilities to communicate over the telephone that is functionally equivalent to the ease of telephone use by hearing peers.

NDI then developed a partnership with Snap Telecommunications, a Video Relay Service, whose general counsel Jeff Rosen is a third generation Deaf person with years of public policy work on behalf of disability. Snap Telecommunications VRS provided the DeafTax VITA Pilot partners with the Snap!VRS Telecommunications (Ojo) videophone.  This allowed Deaf on Deaf tax preparation in real time.  This innovative technology has led to great advancement in the communication options for the Deaf Community, including portable/mobile video phones, video mail, built-in "Voice-Carry-Over", and secure transmission of personal and confidential information (a Deaf person can now "key in" their SS# or CC# through the video phone as opposed to having to finger spell it to the interpreter.

It was evident from the inception of the pilot that normal VITA site procedures would not satisfy the requirements of this Pilot for a number of reasons. 

• Volunteers at the Intake sites would not always be certified VITA tax preparers yet Intake/Interview sheets would be necessary.
• Sensitive taxpayer information would be transmitted over non-secure lines thus necessitating clear taxpayer understanding and consent.
• Remote Intake sites would need a method for determining volunteer availability.
• A close working relationship would be required with the six different IRS territories involved. 

It was imperative that all participants in the Pilot understand and operate under the same set of procedures.  On November 7, 2008, IRS released SPEC Policy Directive: IRM Section 22.30.1.4.8.3.2, Non Face-to-Face Rural VITA/TCE Site Operating Procedures.  A procedure manual for the Pilot was created using the Rural procedures as a basis and has not received any IRS approval as it is still in a pilot mode.

The actual pilot implementation, once the tax season began, was a learn-as-you-go process with everyone concerned making adjustments during the first few weeks.  Several conference calls were held to make sure that everyone understood their roles and to clarify any remaining questions.  In spite of this there were still stumbling blocks, the greatest one being the non-deaf community not understanding that there is a definite Deaf culture and secondly that ASL is a language of its own and not the same as spoken English.  Some Deaf taxpayers thought the idea of free tax assistance was a “hoax” and even called their Deaf colleagues “to check it out” before signing-up. The pilot sites with interpreters and established relationships with their Deaf community produced the most returns.

Deaf VITA certified tax preparers located in Bethesda, MD and Rochester, NY prepared  2008 tax returns for Deaf taxpayers in Rochester, NY, Denver, CO, New York, NY, Charlotte, NC, and Jacksonville, FL. Deaf taxpayers were invited to participate in the pilot by community-based organizations that either ran a VITA program or provided services for the Deaf community.  For 2009 returns one more preparation site has been added in Wichita, KS in addition to 11 more intake sites in all regions of the country.  An internet calendar allows cities to book reservations and coordinate schedules for the remote Deaf tax preparers. Site representatives or volunteers verify the identity of the Deaf taxpayers and help them to prepare an intake questionnaire.

Remote tax preparation is conducted by the use of state-of-the-art Video Relay Services (VRS) technology that connect the Deaf taxpayer and Deaf tax preparer through a video phone allowing Deaf to Deaf real-time tax preparation. Deaf tax filers make an appointment at the designated hosting organization that is staffed by a volunteer fluent in ASL and equipped with a video phone, a scanner and a computer that is used to transmit the filer’s financial documents to the tax preparers in one of the three remote locations. The VITA certified tax preparers, Rochester Institute of Technology students, an AmeriCorps member and Schwarz Financial employees, are the designated preparers and responsible for preparation of the filers’ return.  After the return is prepared it is e-mailed to the intake site, printed and given to the taxpayer.  The preparer then goes over the return line-by-line with the Deaf taxpayer using the video phone.  If the taxpayer agrees with the return as prepared, they sign the signature document and the volunteer at the intake site scans and e-mails the signature document back to the preparer.   The printed return and other documents are given to the taxpayer for their record.  All returns completed by the certified VITA preparers are reviewed for quality and transmitted by the project coordinators.

It was reported that the quality of the returns prepared Deaf on Deaf using the VRS were excellent and could be attributed to the use of the first language for Deaf taxpayers that is ASL and not English.  Although one of the main purposes of this pilot is to provide better quality tax preparation service for taxpayers who are Deaf there have been ancillary results as well.  The pilot has come on the radar screen of federal agencies as well as major companies whose business requires remote customer contact.  They are researching and considering new technologies as an enhancement to their customer service operation.