Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Certification Practice Test

True or False: A certified tax preparer must be certified to the Advanced level if the tax return identified requires Advanced IRS tax law certification, but the Quality Reviewer can be certified to any level, including Basic.

1. True

2. False

The correct answer is: False

A certified tax preparer must have the appropriate certification level that corresponds with the complexity of the tax return being prepared. If a return requires Advanced IRS tax law knowledge, then the preparer must indeed be certified to the Advanced level. This ensures that the preparer has the necessary skills and understanding to handle the specific intricacies involved with that type of return. However, the Quality Reviewer, who checks the work of the preparer, does not need to hold the same level of certification as the preparer. The requirement for the Quality Reviewer is that they can be certified to any level, including Basic. This flexibility allows Quality Reviewers to oversee the work while recognizing that their primary role is to ensure quality and compliance, not necessarily to possess advanced tax knowledge. Thus, the statement is false because it inaccurately implies that the Quality Reviewer must also be certified at the Advanced level if the preparer's certification does.