Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness

Thought I'd post this, as I can't figure out how to post it on the Bonneville County's Extension website...I am actually not sure if this applies to states other than Idaho, although I'm sure it does...maybe I'll check up on that!

Article written by Marilyn Bischoff, Extension Professor and Family Economics Specialist for University of Idaho

With the current economic downturn, the EITC will be welcome news for many families and individuals. Low-wage workers are apt to be reeling from the added financial pressures they currently face and need to be reminded that the EITC can help relieve some of that pressure. For a family with two or more children, the EITC can be worth as much as $4,824 for the 2008 tax year. In addition, there are lots of people who, until now, may have been employed in relatively well-paying jobs but have become unemployed. If they did not work the full year in 2008, there’s a chance they could be eligible for the EITC because their income was much lower than expected. These are people who may never have filed for the credit before and may not even know about it because it never applied to them.

Some Idahoans may also be eligible for Economic Stimulus payments. Low-income and recently unemployed individuals should take the amount of the Economic Stimulus Payment they received in 2008 to a VITA site to determine eligibility. The Economic Stimulus payment is not taxable but, if they did not receive the entire amount they should have or were not eligible last year but are this year, they may still be eligible for payment (or rebate) from the federal government, along with their 2008 tax refund.

Messages targeted to individuals who are low-income and/or recently unemployed need to convey that they could qualify for the EITC and possibly for economic stimulus payments— and they can get help from VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. VITA sites are staffed by volunteers who received training from the IRS and the Idaho State Tax Commission. VITA volunteers are ready to assist eligible taxpayers in the completion of their tax returns—federal and state—and it’s absolutely free!

Locate a VITA site in your community by calling the 2-1-1 Idaho Care Line, dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-926-2588.

Sources:

http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/madison/Files/ITCT/2-09.pdf (click on link to obtain actual article)

Tax Credit Outreach Team, January 16, 2009, National EITC Awareness Day 2009 email, IRS, Washington, DC; Boyak, K., January 26, 2009, Idaho Volunteer Site Listings, personal email, Idaho IRS office, Boise, ID.