Helping low to moderate-income households achieve financial stability.
Although programs exist to lift low-income working families out of poverty, not everyone has the knowledge to access them. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for people who work but do not earn high incomes. Taxpayers who quality for and claim the credit pay less federal tax, pay no tax at all, or even get a tax refund. Yet an estimated 20% of eligible low-income families are unaware of the EITC– leaving an estimated $38 million unclaimed.
This past year, United Way trained 294 volunteers, who committed nearly 7,500 hours to prepare over 8,000 tax returns. Many families served would have never filed on their own. Although faced with complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Free Tax Prep program was still able to deliver over 12,000,000 in refund dollars to families to help them avoid tax filing fees and receive on-time refunds they can put toward the costs of basic needs like food and housing.
You can help by serving as a volunteer tax preparer or by providing funding to support volunteer recruitment and management, outreach to eligible tax payers, appointment scheduling and site operation.
You don’t have to be a professional tax accountant to help us serve low-income, working families. Volunteers are from all walks of life and will be trained and certified to meet the needs of those we serve.
Volunteer sign ups will close on January 10, 2022.
