Form 15358 – Coronavirus Safety Protocols for VITA/TCE Site

Editorial Standards

How we research, review, and update this guide

Every Accountably guide is researched against primary IRS sources, reviewed by a U.S. CPA, and refreshed as guidance evolves. Read our Editorial Guidelines to see how we source, fact-check, and update our content.

On a VITA opening morning, the protocol sheet is the thing that nobody quite owns. It gets squeezed between volunteer onboarding, intake setup, and the rush to open the doors, and that is exactly where Form 15358 lives. It is the IRS Coronavirus Safety Protocols template for VITA and TCE sites, a single-page fillable document the site coordinator completes and posts.

It is not a tax return, and nothing about it goes to the IRS. There is no filing window, no submission channel, and no penalty; the completed sheet is posted on-site for volunteer and visitor awareness. The current revision is Rev. 12-2021, Catalog Number 74124X, and it has not changed since. A clean habit is to draft the protocol text as a short site SOP, paste it into the single Enter Text field at print time, then date and initial each posted copy.

Key Takeaways

Form 15358 is a single-page fillable template (Catalog Number 74124X, Rev. 12-2021) that VITA and TCE site coordinators use to document and post the coronavirus safety protocols in effect at their tax-preparation site.
Who completes it: The site coordinator or the sponsoring organization’s designated administrator. Individual taxpayers and businesses have no role in this form.
It is not filed with the IRS: No filing window, no submission channel, no acknowledgment, and no penalty – the completed sheet is posted on-site for volunteer and visitor awareness.
Current revision: Form 15358 (Rev. 12-2021). As published on IRS.gov, the form has not been revised since December 2021; this version remains in use through 2025. There is no tax-year-specific update.
Main pitfall: Treating Form 15358 as a tax return or information disclosure form. It is neither. Program oversight is handled by the IRS SPEC office, not by enforcement.
SOP tip: Draft the protocol text separately as a short site SOP, then paste it into the form’s single “Enter Text” field at print time. Date and initial each posted copy.

What Form 15358 Is and When to Use It

Form 15358, “Coronavirus Safety Protocols for VITA/TCE Site,” is a single-page fillable template the IRS publishes for VITA and TCE site coordinators to document the coronavirus safety protocols in effect at their tax-preparation site. The form carries Catalog Number 74124X and was last revised in December 2021. It is not a return, schedule, or information report – the IRS does not collect, process, or score it.

The form is part of the IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) office toolkit for VITA and TCE program sites. It computes no tax, reports no income, and is not filed with the IRS – it is operational signage the site posts for volunteers and visiting taxpayers.

Sites use Form 15358 to give volunteers and visiting taxpayers a clear, posted statement of the safety rules the site is operating under. The IRS does not prescribe specific protocols on the form itself; the site coordinator drafts the content using IRS SPEC office guidance and local public-health rules.

Who Completes the Form

Form 15358 is completed by the VITA or TCE site coordinator, or by the sponsoring organization’s designated administrator. It is not used by individual taxpayers, businesses, or any party outside the VITA/TCE volunteer-program structure.

When the Form Gets Used

There is no IRS filing window, deadline, or submission channel. Sites complete and post Form 15358 whenever their on-site safety protocols are introduced, updated, or refreshed – typically at the start of each filing season, after a sponsor change, or after public-health guidance shifts. Nothing about the form gets sent to the IRS.

How to Complete Form 15358

The form is a single page. It carries the IRS title block, branding, and one free-form “Enter Text” field. There are no line items, schedules, attachments, or other fields to populate. The site coordinator types the site’s coronavirus safety protocols into the text field, then prints and posts the completed sheet.

Section / Field	What to Provide	Practitioner Tip
Title block	Pre-printed by the IRS: “Coronavirus Safety Protocols for VITA/TCE Site”	No edits required – do not modify the IRS title or branding
“Enter Text” field	The site’s on-site coronavirus safety protocols, drafted by the site coordinator	Write the protocol text separately as a short SOP, then paste it into this single field at print time
Form footer	Pre-printed: “Form 15358 (12-2021) Catalog Number 74124X Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov”	Confirm the 12-2021 revision date appears in the footer before printing

Drafting the Protocol Text

The IRS does not prescribe a specific list of protocols on the form. The site coordinator drafts the content using current IRS SPEC office guidance and local public-health rules. Common topics include masking expectations, physical distancing, sanitization, capacity limits, and how the site will respond if a visitor reports symptoms – but the exact language is decided by the site and its sponsoring organization, not the IRS.

Deadlines and Filing Requirements

There is no filing requirement for Form 15358. The form is not submitted to the IRS, so there is no filing deadline, no submission channel, no extension procedure, and no tax penalty regime tied to it. It is operational signage that VITA and TCE sites post on-site for volunteer and visitor awareness.

Item	Detail
Filing Frequency	Not filed – the form is posted on-site, not submitted to the IRS
IRS Deadline	None – there is no IRS deadline because the form is not filed
Submission Channel	None – the form is operational signage, not a return
Consequence of Non-Use	No IRS tax penalty – program-administration matter handled by the IRS SPEC office, not enforcement
Extension	Not applicable – no filing window exists to extend
Retention	Keep a dated copy of the posted protocols in the site binder for sponsor and IRS SPEC office review

Program Oversight, Not Tax Enforcement

Form 15358 sits inside the IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) office, which administers the VITA and TCE programs. SPEC handles site coordination, volunteer certification, and program compliance. No IRC §6651 or §6662 penalty regime applies to Form 15358, and non-completion is a sponsor and SPEC matter, not a tax-enforcement matter.

What the Form Does Not Cover

Because Form 15358 is a coronavirus safety protocols template and not a tax form, it does not capture or report any income, deductions, tax, or compliance items. Anyone arriving at this form expecting a return, a schedule, or a filing process will find a single free-form text field and IRS branding – nothing more.

Not a Prescribed List of Required Measures

Form 15358 does not mandate specific safety measures. The IRS does not enumerate masking, distancing, or capacity rules on the form itself. The site coordinator drafts the protocol language and types it into the single “Enter Text” field, following IRS SPEC office guidance and local public-health rules.

Not a VITA Application or Volunteer Form

Site registration, volunteer certification, and sponsor agreements use separate IRS forms – for example, Form 13206 (Volunteer Assistance Summary Report), Form 13615 (Volunteer Standards of Conduct), and Form 14204 (Tax Counseling for the Elderly Program Application). Form 15358 does not register sites, certify volunteers, or replace any of those forms.

Not a Tax Return or Information Return

Form 15358 has no income, deduction, tax, or signature lines. The IRS provides no filing instructions because there is no filing process. The completed sheet stays on-site; the IRS does not collect, process, or score it.

How the Form Fits Into the VITA/TCE Program

Form 15358 is part of the operational toolkit the IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) office publishes for VITA and TCE sites. It is not part of the return-processing pipeline and not part of any IRS examination program. It is on-site signage, kept and updated at the site.

The Role of the IRS SPEC Office

SPEC administers the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) and TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) programs and publishes the templates, training materials, and standards that sites operate under. Form 15358 is one of those templates – specifically, a single-page coronavirus safety protocols sheet the site can complete and post on-site.

The Role of the Site Coordinator

The site coordinator owns Form 15358. They draft the protocol language, paste it into the single text field, print and post the form, and refresh it when sponsor policy or public-health guidance changes. The sponsoring organization typically reviews the language before posting.

Record Retention for Form 15358

Keep a dated copy of the posted protocols in the site binder under “Operational signage,” along with the prior versions that have been replaced. The sponsoring organization and the IRS SPEC office may request the on-site documentation as part of routine program-administration review.

What Happens When Protocols Change

Because Form 15358 is on-site signage rather than a filed return, there is no formal “termination” step. The change event for Form 15358 is simply when the site’s safety protocols are updated or retired.

Updating the Posted Protocols

When sponsor policy, IRS SPEC guidance, or local public-health rules change, the site coordinator redrafts the protocol text and re-prints the form. Date and initial the new copy, and archive the prior version in the site binder so the change history is preserved.

Retiring the Form

If a site decides to stop displaying the coronavirus safety protocols, the form can simply be removed from the entrance and intake area and archived. There is no IRS notification step, no withdrawal procedure, and no penalty – the form was operational signage, not a tax filing.

Documentation in the Site Binder

Whether the protocols are updated or retired, keep dated copies in the site binder. The sponsoring organization and the IRS SPEC office may request the on-site documentation as part of routine program-administration review.

Common Mistakes That Slow Things Down

From my side of the desk, the recurring problems with Form 15358 are not arithmetic errors or missed line items, they are misconceptions about what the form is for in the first place. Sites that misread it once tend to repeat the same mistake across volunteer rotations and sponsor handoffs.

1. Treating Form 15358 as a tax return or information return. Per IRS Form 15358 instructions, the form is an operational signage template for VITA and TCE sites, not a return that gets submitted to the IRS. There is no filing channel, no acknowledgment, and no penalty for non-filing because nothing is filed. Fix: Treat the completed sheet as on-site signage. Post the protocols at the site entrance or in the intake area, and keep a dated copy in the site binder.

2. Searching for a 2025 version of the form. The current revision is dated 12-2021 and remains the version the IRS publishes for use through 2025, per IRS.gov. There is no tax-year-specific update. Fix: Download from the IRS.gov form library and confirm the revision date in the footer of the PDF reads 12-2021. If a newer revision is issued, it will be re-cataloged under the same Catalog Number 74124X.

3. Asking individual taxpayers or firm clients to complete it. The form is intended for VITA and TCE site coordinators, not for the taxpayers they serve. Routing it to individual filers or to a small-business client creates confusion and signals that the site does not understand the SPEC program structure. Fix: Restrict completion to the site coordinator or the sponsoring organization's designated administrator. Document who owns the protocol sheet in the site's volunteer onboarding packet.

4. Assuming the form prescribes specific safety protocols. Form 15358 contains a single free-form text field with no mandated content. The IRS does not list specific protocols on the form itself; those are drafted by the site coordinator using IRS SPEC office guidance and local public-health rules. Fix: Draft the protocol language separately as a short SOP, then paste the finalized text into the form's text field. Review the language with the sponsoring organization before posting.

5. Confusing Form 15358 with VITA application or volunteer forms. Site registration, volunteer certification, and sponsor agreements use separate IRS forms, including Form 13206, Form 13615, and Form 14204. Mixing Form 15358 into that stack creates a filing trail that does not exist. Fix: Keep Form 15358 on a separate page of the site binder labeled "Operational signage." Reserve the volunteer and sponsor forms for the IRS submission stack.

6. Assuming the form was withdrawn after the COVID public-health emergency ended. The form remains active in its 12-2021 revision. Sites use it at their discretion based on current sponsor and public-health guidance. Fix: Decide each season whether the site still wants to display the protocols. If retained, refresh the text to reflect current public-health guidance before reprinting.

Practical Checklists You Can Reuse

Each of the checklists below is written to drop straight into a VITA or TCE site SOP without rework. Print, mark, and route them to the site coordinator on file.

Site posting setup

Download the current Form 15358 (Rev. 12-2021) from the IRS.gov form library.
Confirm the Catalog Number 74124X appears in the form footer.
Draft the on-site safety protocols using current IRS SPEC office guidance.
Cross-check the draft against local and state public-health requirements.
Paste the finalized text into the form's single fillable field.
Route the draft to the sponsoring organization's designated reviewer for sign-off.
Print at least two copies, one for the entrance and one for the intake station.
Store the signed master copy in the site binder under "Operational signage."

Annual protocol refresh

Pull the prior season's Form 15358 from the site binder.
Review each line of the protocol text against current public-health guidance.
Check the IRS.gov form library for any newer revision of Form 15358.
Update the protocol text where guidance has shifted.
Re-route the updated draft to the sponsoring organization for sign-off.
Reprint and replace the posted copies at the site entrance and intake station.
Archive the prior copy with the date it was retired.

Volunteer onboarding handoff

Walk new volunteers through the posted Form 15358 protocols on day one.
Confirm the volunteer can locate the binder copy of the signed form.
Identify who at the site is authorized to update the protocol text.
Note the difference between Form 15358 and the volunteer certification forms (Form 13615 and related).
Record the briefing in the site's volunteer training log.

Keep 15358 Season From Stalling

VITA and TCE site coordinators usually rebuild their site documentation in late winter, right when volunteer rotations are settling and the intake schedule is filling. The Coronavirus Safety Protocols template, Form 15358 (Rev. 12-2021), is often the last sheet posted before the doors open, and it is the one most likely to slip when a sponsor changes hands or a volunteer coordinator rotates out. As published on IRS.gov, the form has not been revised since December 2021, so any site running multiple seasons can carry forward most of the language with light edits.

The fix is to treat the protocol sheet as a piece of operational documentation rather than a tax form. Build it into the same site-readiness routine that handles the binder, the intake stack, and the volunteer training log.

Cache the IRS.gov source PDF of Form 15358 in the site binder alongside Form 13206 and Form 13615 so the version reference is one click away.
Maintain the protocol text as a separate document, then paste it into the form's single fillable field at print time.
Date and initial the posted copy, and log the same date in the site readiness checklist.
Schedule a mid-season check to confirm the protocols still match current public-health guidance.
Assign one named owner per season, usually the site coordinator, to prevent silent drift between rotations.

For VITA and TCE site sponsors that lean on a CPA firm for compliance support, the same offshore review discipline used in Accountably's tax outsourcing services can keep the site documentation cycle on schedule. The protocols are simple to write but easy to forget, and a structured handoff prevents the sheet from becoming the last open item on the site coordinator's list.

FAQs

Who completes Form 15358?

Form 15358 is completed by VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) and TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly) site coordinators or the sponsoring organization’s designated administrator. It is not used by individual taxpayers or businesses – only by VITA and TCE program sites.

What content goes on Form 15358?

The form has a pre-printed title block and a single free-form “Enter Text” field. The site coordinator types in the site’s coronavirus safety protocols – for example, masking, distancing, sanitization, and capacity rules. The IRS does not prescribe specific protocols on the form itself; site coordinators draft the language using IRS SPEC office guidance and local public-health rules.

When is Form 15358 due to the IRS?

There is no IRS due date. Form 15358 is not filed with the IRS – it is operational signage that the site posts or retains on-site for volunteer and visitor awareness. The site refreshes the posted protocols whenever its operating conditions or local public-health guidance change.

What are the consequences of not completing Form 15358?

No IRS tax penalty applies. Because the form is not a return and is not filed with the IRS, no IRC §6651 or §6662 penalty regime attaches. Program compliance is handled by the IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) office, not by enforcement.

Is there a 2025 revision of Form 15358?

No. The current and only active revision is dated 12-2021 (Catalog Number 74124X). The IRS has not issued a 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025 revision. Reference the form by its current revision date: “Form 15358 (Rev. 12-2021).”