Enhancing Financial Capability Efforts at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Sites

Enhancing Financial Capability Efforts at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Sites

Research Agenda

During the 2018 tax season, Prosperity Now and the Social Policy Institute partnered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Prosperity Now on an initiative to standardize and enhance the data collection efforts at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. These sites provide free tax filing services to low- and moderate-income tax filers, and often provide other services (such as bank account opening, financial coaching, and savings programs) in conjunction with tax filing.

myRA Savings Program

myRA Savings Program

Research Agenda

In a collaborative project with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Intuit, Inc., a team of SPI researchers explored methods of promoting the myRA (My Retirement Account) savings program at tax time—when households file their taxes. It focused specifically on opportunities in an online tax-filing setting and in person at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites.