United Way of King County needs volunteers for its Free Tax Campaign

United Way of King County needs volunteers now to help fight poverty with our Free Tax Preparation Campaign.

Funded by United Way, the IRS, Washington’s Department of Commerce, and the City of Seattle, our free tax services run from January through April. 

Although Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell recently announced a plan to reduce funding to our Free Tax Preparation Campaign, our program still remains committed to helping our neighbors get back the money they deserve.

Volunteers are fully trained and IRS-certified to help people keep more of what they earn by leveraging some incredible anti-poverty tax credits and preparing their taxes for free. 

United Way is recruiting 750 volunteers for 20 tax sites this year. Last year, we served more than 12,700 clients and leveraged $15.6 million in federal tax refunds. And we look forward to doing it again this year!

We have both in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities, which include: 

• In-Person Tax Preparation Specialists: Prepare tax returns at one of our locations across King County. All specialists are trained to obtain Advanced IRS Tax Law VITA certification.
• Community Intake Specialists: Assist at our tax sites by maintaining client waitlists, answering questions, and connecting clients to important community resources.

You do not need any prior knowledge or training to volunteer, though if you are interested in a virtual opportunity, you MUST have a high degree of computer literacy, a stable internet connection, and be willing and able to communicate with clients by phone. 

In general, it is important that our tax volunteers have a friendly attitude, a willingness to be flexible, have general computer experience, and are willing to commit to three to six hours of service a week.

The ability to speak another language is helpful, but not required. Languages in high demand include Spanish, Amharic, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Russian, Ukrainian, Somali, and Tagalog. Interested in volunteering? Please log on here.

Questions? Email us at freetax@uwkc.org