Regional Comments Jerry Lopatin, Pacific Regional Coordinator Agenda Thank you’s The Good The Other Site Issues seen last season – Jerry Some persistent challenges The New Pacific Regional Policies Regional Goals

Thank You! Last Year was Difficult … I apologize … You Came Through … But sometimes with Tremendous Personal Cost Special Callout to …

The Good … Almost As Many Returns as Last Year

2017 Filing Season Results – Tax-Aide Achieved 94.25% Accuracy Rate Prepared Over 1.5 Million Federal Returns Prepared Over 1.2 Million State Returns Achieved 99% Electronic Filing Rate Returned Over $1.3 Billion In Federal Refunds Refund Returns Exceeded 1.2 Million Returns Served Over 290,000 Veterans Increased Direct Deposit Rate To 70%

2017 Filing Season Results – Tax-Aide Quality Return Review Results – Tax-Aide QSS Return Reviews 94.25% Accuracy Rate 174 Return Reviews Completed 164 Correct Returns Completed 10 Incorrect Returns Completed 7 Sites With Incorrect Returns Quality Site Requirement Adherence 93.90% Accuracy Rate 59 Site Reviews Completed

Supplemental Intake Sheet Highlights Piloted to answer two questions: would form be used? who are we actually serving from a diversity perspective? All States used the Intake Sheet to varying degrees. Diversity Sites (as expected) had higher percentages of multicultural groups. Difficult to know if any anomalies in results due to TaxSlayer or Software Setup issues (or other reasons)

Supplemental Intake Sheet Summary Stats All Sites – 24% Total Multicultural 82% White 7% Hispanic 10% African-American / Black 2% Asian < 1% Am Indian/Alaska Native < 1% Hawaii / Pacific Islander 3% Other

Taxpayer Satisfaction Survey 2017 Taxpayer Satisfaction Survey Results (note TSS uses random sample of 3,000 respondents) 82% White 4% Hispanic 7% Black / African-American 2% Asian 1% Am Indian/Alaska Native 2% Other

Site Issues Seen TY 2016 - Jerry Almost Always Little to absolutely no use of 13614-C Not asking about additional income Not looking for Scope issues before starting return Frequently Not empathetically engaging with Taxpayer Long waits for service Not going over return with Taxpayer Not emphasizing return is Taxpayer responsibility Not looking at prior year return for possible missing items Occasionally Taxpayer not present during QR Demanding original Social security card No wrap up – emphasizing action  

Brand New – and Tentative Multi-Factor Authentication Lots to come on this Re-Authentication every 7-30 days (currently) Default is 7 days – but each site can change during site setup. 13615 Wording New wording says By signing this form, I declare that I have completed Volunteer Standards of Conduct Certification and have read, understand, and will comply with the volunteer standards of conduct. I also certify that I am a U.S. citizen, a legal resident, or otherwise reside in the U.S. legally. Awaiting clarification … Global Carryover Requirement to TY 2018 TY 2017 has Global Carryover everywhere in Tax-Aide Carryover allowed to same Tax-Aide Site in 2018 Carryover to another Tax Aide site in 2018 will require signed authorization

Some Persistent Difficult Issues What should we do about high income taxpayers?  And what is “high income” Possible letter to high income taxpayers What should we do about shut-ins?  How do we ensure volunteer safety?  And what impact does it have on serving others? Walk-ins are more efficient than appointments, but also force elderly (and other) taxpayers to wait a long time.  Quality vs Quantity of people served Should we mainly go to an appointment system?  And is it fair to open appointments the first day of the tax season, so they can be all taken by the first week?

Pacific Regional Policies TY 2017 Regional (R10) Decisions Intake Forms (including Supplemental) Will Be Used! No Taxpayers with Foreign accounts over $10k – ASK! Amendments Only for Missed Income < $200, Refund >$25 Complete Tax return must go with any 8879 that leaves site May say “DRAFT” OK to “discuss” / give letter to Taxpayers with income over $100K Remember, Income > $250k (MFJ) is 99.9% likely Out of Scope (NIIT) No California Part-Year or Non-Resident Returns File / Printer Sharing – vs wireless printing – OK Windows 10 – try to accelerate upgrade this year

Possible Letter to High Income Taxpayers Dear Taxpayer, We’re happy that you have had the opportunity today to have your taxes prepared by the volunteers of AARP Tax-Aide. As you probably know, Tax-Aide’s mission is to provide high quality free income tax preparation to low- and moderate-income taxpayers, with special attention to those age 60 and older. The average income of those we serve in this area is approximately $xx,xxx. While we don’t have an income cap, there are many low income seniors in this area that we must turn away because we simply do not have enough volunteers to meet the demand. We have noticed that your income is substantially above our average, and it is likely that you have the resources to afford a paid preparer. While we will welcome you back next year, we do ask that you consider the needs of those that cannot afford paid preparation and, if your income remains at this level, to consider using a paid preparer instead so that space can be freed up to accommodate others. Thank you

Pacific Regional Goals Build Confidence in TaxSlayer (Survey) Leader succession Volunteer retention / satisfaction (Survey) Build bridges with VITA and local agencies Build recruiting pipeline with National organizations and IRS Weekend and evening sites