Many of your clients and members may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other tax credits, but they must file a tax return in order to claim the credits. Clients who worked in 2017, and earned less than $54,000 may be able to have their tax returns completed for FREE by an IRS-certified volunteer at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site.
The Virginia Cash Campaign is a network of local coalitions that recruit and train volunteers, as well as set up and coordinate the VITA sites. A directory of local Virginia Cash Campaign Coalitions that includes the contact information for the lead person(s) within the local coalition can be found at http://www.vaeitc.org/page.cfm/coalition-partners.
Referrals to 2-1-1 VIRGINIA will assist clients in locating the closest VITA site to them. Please help by encouraging low-income clients to take advantage of this free service, rather than spend their hard-earned wages on a paid tax preparer to receive a costly refund anticipation loan. Additional information about EITC and other credits can be found on the updated EITC page on the public VDSS website at http://www.dss.virginia.gov/community/eitc.cgi.
Flyers Available for Display and/or Distribution
An updated EITC informational flyer is now available to download and print for display and / or electronic distribution to clients at the following link: http://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/cvs/pi/eitc/free_tax_assistance/Get_your_TAXES_donefor_FREE.pdf .
Click on the first heading “Free Tax Prep” to locate the 2017 Tax Year flyer. In addition, a flyer has been created with information on the Virginia Low-income Individuals Credit, found at http://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/cvs/pi/eitc/employer_info/cli_flyer2017.pdf
Additional information about EITC can be found on the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/Credits-&-Deductions/Individuals/Earned-Income-Tax-Credit
Free File Software is Available
Clients who want to prepare their own federal and state returns online at no charge can use Free File software available on both the IRS and VA Department of Taxation websites.
VA TAX link: http://www.tax.virginia.gov/content/free-file
IRS link: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free