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Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) today urged those earning less than $51,567 last year to check if they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which returns up to $6,044 to an individual taxpayer. Those who qualify for the EITC must file and claim the credit to receive the refund.

“Taking advantage of this widely-available tax credit is critical to economic expansion in the Capital Region. Middle income earners are major drivers of growth in our community, and it benefits us all to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking families. As we embark on a new year in Congress, I urge House Leadership to help enact similar policies that grow our economy from the middle-out – like raising the minimum wage, renewing unemployment insurance, and ensuring women receive an equal paycheck to their male counterparts when they perform equal work.”

EITC is a refundable credit. When the credit amount exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund. Millions of taxpayer will qualify for this credit for the first time this year.  

Free tax preparation assistance is available throughout the tax season. For tax help visit “Free Tax Return Preparation for You by Volunteers” found on IRS.gov; or call the IRS at 1-800-906-9887. Some taxpayers may choose to electronically file at the IRS.gov site ‘free file’: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free.

Last Friday, Congressman Tonko attended an event with CA$H of the Greater Capital Region to raise awareness about this tax credit, and to urge eligible families to claim it.In 2013, through the CA$H Coalition’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and AARP Tax-Aide programs, over 230 IRS-certified volunteers helped return more than $19 million in tax savings and credits to 13,755 Capital Region families. $2 million of this total was a result of people taking advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Since the CA$H / VITA and AARP Tax-Aide programs began locally, volunteers have helped return more than $100 million to working families, individuals and seniors in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady and Schoharie counties. The EITC is one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs, annually lifting 6.6 million people out of poverty, half of whom are children. Research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicates that EITC recipients, as a whole, pay more in federal income taxes than they receive in EITC benefits. 20% to 25% of those who are eligible fail to claim their credit because they are unaware of it or do not know how to file to obtain it.

Further resources:

·        www.eitc.irs.gov, for the EITC Partner Toolkit  (Government Agencies and Offices) that provides statistics, posters, sample news releases, a sample “tweet”, letter to the editor, newsletter article, web article, and “widgets” .

·        www.irs.gov/eitc, for general EITC information and links.

·        www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=130102,00.htmlto promote the use of IRS's online EITC Assistant to determine eligibility. The EITC Assistant will be available in late January.

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