PWS - Tax Center Coordinator.pdf

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

TAX CENTER COORDINATOR

19 October 2023

1. PURPOSE.

The primary purpose of this contract is to obtain a Tax Coordinator for the McConnell Air Force Base (AFB) Tax Center for the preparation and electronic filing of Federal and State tax returns, including amended returns. This activity shall be performed under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and the McConnell AFB legal office.

2. SCOPE.

The tax coordinator shall oversee the McConnell AFB Tax Center, offering Federal and State tax assistance to more than 16,000 Department of Defense beneficiaries associated with McConnell AFB. The tax coordinator shall be responsible for the preparation and electronic filing of personal income tax returns by VITA volunteers. The Tax Center is located at McConnell AFB, Kansas, and work conducted there will be monitored by the McConnell AFB legal office (22 ARW/JA). All necessary equipment and supplies will be provided by the Air Force.

TaxSlayer.com, the IRS’s approved tax preparation and electronic filing software, shall be used.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES.

The tax coordinator shall:

a. Oversee as many as 50 VITA volunteers on preparing and electronically filing federal and state income tax returns.

b. Attend and assist IRS personnel in providing a one-week training for VITA volunteers (dates to be determined). The tax coordinator shall coordinate with IRS prior to the training.

c. Conduct training for VITA volunteers on preparation of state income tax returns.

d. Schedule volunteers to ensure adequate manning of the Tax Center throughout the tax season.

e. Ensure personal information is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act and confidentiality requirements, including record retention and disposition requirements.

f. Prepare federal and state income tax returns for eligible beneficiaries and quality review returns prepared by VITA volunteers.

g. Electronically submit completed returns in a timely manner.

h. Maintain an accurate tax return filing system as required by the IRS.

i. Efficiently manage supplies and resources allocated for the Tax Center.

j. Effectively communicate and coordinate with the point of contact at the McConnell AFB Legal Office. To this end, the tax center coordinator will, at a minimum:

1) No later than one week prior to the date the tax center opens, provide the point of contact with a written list of support requirements anticipated for the entire upcoming tax season, including but not limited to, the number of computers and printers needed, the amount of office supplies including paper needed, and any connectivity requirements.

The coordinator will provide a brief (one or two-sentence) justification for each item.

2) Send to 22ARW.JA@us.af.mil a proposed volunteer work schedule for the entire period the tax center is open no later than January 25th of the tax season.

3) Send weekly e-mail updates, each Monday before 1400, to 22ARW.JA@us.af.mil, beginning on February 5th of the tax season, and for the remainder of the contract period, this weekly e-mail update will include (note: numbers should be reported for the week as well as a running cumulative total for the entire tax season):

a) The total number of Federal Electronic Returns filed.

b) The total number of Federal Paper Returns filed.

c) The total number of State Electronic Returns filed.

d) The total number of State Paper Returns filed.

e) A running list of states where tax returns have been filed by clients.

f) A breakdown of tax center clientele by status (active duty, reserve, Guard, retiree, dependent) and, for active duty, guard, and reserve personnel, by grade (e.g., E-1, E- 2, O-1, etc.).

g) The total amount of tax preparation cost savings to clients.

h) The total amount of tax refunds.

i) Names of volunteers and number of hours volunteered to-date by each volunteer.

j) Changes to the volunteer work schedule, if any.

k) The total number of hours worked by the tax coordinator to date.

l) Success stories, if any.

m) Lessons learned, if any.

n) Requests for additional supplies, if necessary.

o) Other requests for Legal Office support, if necessary.

k. Prepare certificates, letters of appreciation, and a volunteer luncheon to thank VITA volunteers at the end of the tax season. Draft certificates and letters of appreciation will be submitted to the point of contact at the McConnell AFB Legal Office no later than April 19 of the tax season.

l. Communicate with the IRS VITA liaison to ensure compliance with IRS requirements.

m. Prepare and update the McConnell Tax Center continuity book.

n. Complete “IRS Link & Learn Taxes e-Learning” prior to January 2nd of the tax season in order to be able to assist in IRS VITA training at McConnell AFB.

4. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS.

The Coordinator must have the following minimum qualifications:

a. At least three years of tax preparation experience (three different tax seasons) during the past seven years. The tax coordinator must have prepared at least 50 federal tax returns in each of those three years as a VITA volunteer or in a paid position (H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, etc.);

b. Experience using TaxSlayer.com or other similar tax preparation software;

mailto:22ARW.JA@us.af.mil mailto:22ARW.JA@us.af.mil

c. At least three years of experience managing three or more people, or at least three tax seasons of experience managing a similar tax program, preferably on a DoD installation.

Management experience must be commensurate to the responsibilities described in paragraph 3.

d. Provide at least two references verifying your management experience as required by this paragraph;

e. Must be able to qualify for and be willing to complete the steps necessary for issuance of an Air Force Common Access Card in order to access the McConnell AFB network; and

f. Prior to January 2nd of the tax season, complete the following trainings:

1) Complete Site Coordinator Training by viewing the Site Coordinator's PowerPoint or Link and Learn Taxes on irs.gov;

2) Complete Volunteer Standards of Conduct (Ethics) Training on irs.gov;

3) Complete Intake/Interview & Quality Review Training on irs.gov; and

4) Complete Basic, Advance, and Military Training on www.irs.gov or Publication 6744.

5. WORK HOURS.

The tax coordinator is required to assist with the teaching of a one-week IRS VITA training at McConnell AFB. The Coordinator will be paid the contracted rate while attending the training.

Upon completion of the training, the Coordinator must pass all VITA qualifications tests. The Coordinator will then be responsible for setting up the Tax Center and training VITA volunteers until the Tax Center officially opens on or about January 28th of the tax season. The McConnell AFB Tax Center is expected to be open for business from January 28th to April 16 (or one day after the Federal tax filing deadline if such deadline is extended past April 15). From April 17th to on or about May 3rd of the tax season, the Coordinator will complete end of year reports and other administrative matters and organize an appreciation luncheon for volunteers.

The Contractor is not to exceed the quantities of hours as stated in the contract. Work hours while the Tax Center is open for business will normally be from 0800 to 1700, Monday through Friday, with a one-hour lunch (8 hours per work day). In addition, some Saturdays may be required in order to accomplish quality reviews and timely processing of tax returns. If the normal deadline for tax filing (15 April) is changed, the Contractor will immediately contact the tax center POC to discuss adjusting their hours to ensure coverage for the entire tax season without exceeding the quantities of hours as stated in the contract.

Before the Tax Center opens for business, the Tax Coordinator should only use the number of hours necessary to ensure the Tax Center is ready for opening day. Duties may include setting up supplies for each workstation, ensuring the TaxWise software has all the volunteers entered into it and they are correctly coded, ensuring all volunteers have passed all required VITA testing, and any additional work required for the Tax Center to operate and process returns on opening day. The reduced work load prior to opening is necessary to ensure that the tax coordinator can accommodate the end-of-season rush, which usually requires more hours than the beginning of the season. Because the tax coordinator will not be permitted to work more hours than those stated in the contract, the tax coordinator is expected to organize his or her time worked accordingly.

Occasional adjustments to this schedule may be approved by the McConnell AFB Legal Office.

Valid reasons for schedule adjustments include, but are not limited to, federal holidays, end-of-season rush, or additional hours to ensure timely processing of tax returns.

http://www.irs.gov/

6. TAX CENTER HOURS OF BUSINESS.

The Tax Center will be open for business approximately 0800 to 1600, Monday through Friday, from on or about January 28th to on or about April 16th of the tax season (or one day after the Federal tax filing deadline if such deadline is extended past April 15). Additional workdays before or after the Tax Center’s period of operation will be used for training and administrative matters.

7. BILLING

The contractor may invoice on a bi-monthly or monthly basis via Wide Area Workflow and the payment instructions as outlined in the contract. Payment shall be made using electronic funds transfer.

A bi-monthly (two times per month) progress report of returns completed and units worked shall be submitted for verification by the McConnell AFB Legal Office.

8. GENERAL.

Contractor Consent to Background Checks The contractor and, as applicable, subcontractor shall not employ persons for work on this contract if such employee is identified as a potential threat to the health, safety, security, general well-being or operational mission of the installation and its population, nor shall the contractor or subcontractor employ persons under this contract who have an outstanding criminal warrant as identified by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). NCIC checks will verify if a person is wanted by local, state, and federal agencies. All contractor and subcontractor personnel must consent to NCIC background checks. Contractor and subcontractor personnel who do not consent to a NCIC check will be denied access to the installation. Information required to conduct a NCIC check includes: subject’s full name, address, social security number, date of birth, driver’s license number and state and completion of a background check questionnaire. The contractor shall provide this information using the Contractor/Vendor Access Request/Authorization Worksheet, provided by the 22 SFS/S5-PV SharePoint site, and shall submit it in conjunction with the contractor’s request for either base or vehicle passes.

Completion of a successful NCIC check does not invalidate the requirement for an escort when contractor or subcontractor personnel are working within controlled or restricted areas.

The contractor shall not be entitled to any compensation for delays or expenses associated with complying with the provisions of this clause. Furthermore, nothing in this clause shall excuse the contractor from proceeding with the contract as required.

Identification and Appearance

All contractor personnel shall have badges while on duty on the government site. Badges are required to identify the individual, company name, and be clearly and distinctly marked as contractor. Size, color, style, etc. are to be mutually agreed to by the contractor and the government. The contractor’s identification badge will not be used as an entry requirement for installation entry or into any government designated controlled or restricted area.

Contractor personnel shall present a neat and professional appearance and be easily identified as contractor employees.

Contractor Registration of Vehicles on McConnell AFB All contractor or subcontractor employees’ vehicles used for the performance of this contract shall comply with all local, state and federal regulations. Additionally, any pass shall be surrendered to Security Forces upon demand to positively identify a person’s need to be on McConnell AFB.

Access to Installation During Various Force Protection Conditions (FPCONs) Contractors will be assigned a mission essential designation IAW requirements contained in McConnell AFB Mission Assurance Plan. Only the installation commander or the unit commander requesting contract support will assign the mission essential designation.

Property Protection Property protection for facility where the contractors’ primary work center is located will be the responsibility of the local facility manager and local Government Security Manager, or their duly authorized representative in accordance with AFI 31-101, Integrated Defense, and command/local directives. The contractor shall safeguard all government-owned equipment and materials in his/her possession or use.

Safeguarding Unclassified/Sensitive Information All resources (e.g. maps, publication/instructions, photos) provided by the government to assist the contractor in the performance of their contract will be surrendered upon termination of a Contract or the end of the contract performance period.

Non-Disclosure Agreements To safeguard information, the contractor shall enter into non-disclosure agreements with the responsible local security manager.

Privacy Act Work on this project requires that personnel have access to Privacy Information. Personnel shall adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations.