Earned income tax credit

1
Earned income tax credit

• Helping clients get what they deserve with online
  tools

2
The Problem

• An estimated 26 percent of eligible EITC
  recipients in Washington state miss out on the
  tax credit because they do not apply for it
• Each year, millions of dollars go unclaimed by
  eligible people who do not take advantage of this
  tax benefit.

3
The Promise

• Online tax filing promises faster processing,
  prompter refunds, lower cost, and greater
  accuracy than traditional paper filing.
• Free online tools reduce costs to low-income
  families to claim their EITC

Put Screenshot of www.icanefile.org here. (web
site was down when I tried to do this)
4
The Goal

• Increase the EITC credits received by Washington
  state families and individuals.
• Help organizations teach clients how to use free
  online tools to calculate eligibility for the
  EITC and file tax returns
• Help clients become more self-sufficient.

Reduce poverty for working families.
5
Challenges to Overcome

• Building client confidence with online tools
• Targeting outreach to right audience
• Communicating the benefits or online tools versus
  traditional ways of filing taxes
• Building client trust of online tools

6
Strategies Used

• Offered EITC-related classes or workshops
• Advised clients about free online tools in
  one-on-one appointments or small group sessions
• Assisted clients with tax preparation using free
  online tools.

7
Results

• Trained 80 volunteers at 10 sites across
  Fictional County
• Prepared more than 1,100 tax returns
• Helped families in Fictional Country reclaim more
  than 500,ooo in income

8
The Impact

• For a lot of people, learning something new like
  filing their taxes online is skill building for
  other things. Once they have the confidence in
  one area maybe theyll try other things like
  online applications and scheduling appointments.
• Nonprofit Staff, Agency X

9
Its Not Just for Taxes

• Other Valuable Online Tools
• Online orders of protection
• Benefits eligibility calculators
• Advocacy tools (environmental and political
  discussions, petitions)
• Communication tools

10
Learn More

• Free online tax preparation tools
• Free online filing via list of IRS Free File
  Alliance tools www.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index
  .jsp
• Earned Income Tax Credit eligibility screening
  and free online tax preparation
  www.icanefile.org