Tax Credits Outreach
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THE EARLY CARE & LEARNING COUNCIL
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER
2012 TAX FILING SEASON
Each year the Early Care & Learning Council partner with advocates and community leaders across the country to conduct a public education campaign aimed at informing families about state and federal tax benefits for which they may be eligible. This year, the tax credits available to low- and moderate-income families are more valuable than ever.
With your help, families could receive:
- Up to $5,751 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
- Up to $1,000 per child from the federal Child Tax Credit.
- Up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.
And many states offer their own versions of these credits as well!
These tax credits are available to all eligible families, and there is free tax preparation assistance available to help families fill out their tax returns. Help make sure that families know about the credits, and how to claim them, so they don’t miss out on thousands of dollars in valuable tax assistance.
Become an ECLC Tax Credits Outreach Campaign Community Partner!
Toolkit for Advocates
The Campaign is a statewide network of community organizations, employers, businesses, social service programs, faith-based organizations, child care providers and advocates for children families are uniquely positioned to educate families about tax benefits and free tax preparation assistance.
Download the one-pager from our toolkit for advocates to get outreach tips and tools to help families claim these valuable tax credits.
Toolkit for Advocates One-Pager
More families than ever are eligible for these credits this year and to get these credits, they must file a tax return. There are many opportunities to raise awareness about these tax credits and to help eligible working families and individuals claim these important tax benefits. Since most of these benefits are spent in local communities, filing for, and receiving these tax credit dollars are considered important economic development tools for low to moderate-income neighborhoods. Remember both customers and employees may be eligible for the EITC, the CDCTC and the CTC.
According to national estimated, 20 – 25 percent of eligible workers so not claim their EITC benefits. That means each year, in New York State, millions of dollars of EITC credits go unclaimed because eligible workers don’t know about the credit or are uncertain about how to apply, hence the importance of this outreach.
For Families in New York:Whether or not they owe income tax, they could get thousands ofdollars in tax credits. They could qualify for:
- Up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, up to $2,310 from the New York State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and up to $1,733 from the New York City Child Care Tax Credit.
- Up to $5,751 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, up to $1,725 from the New York State Earned Income Tax Credit and up to $288 from the New York City Earned Income Tax Credit.
- Up to $1,000 per child from the federal Child Tax Credit and $330 per child from the Empire State Child Tax Credit.
The Federal Child and Dependent Care Credit is not refundable and can only be used to offset taxes owed. This means that families, who qualify for a credit that is larger than the amount of tax they owe, only receive a portion of the credit - up to the amount of tax they owe. For example, a family that qualifies for a credit of $800 but only owes $200 in taxes will receive a credit of $200.
Families whose income is so low that they owe no tax receive no credit at all. The New York State and New York City Child and Dependent Care Credits are refundable. This means that families can receive the full value of the credit for which they qualify regardless of whether they owe taxes. So the family in the example above would receive a tax refund of $600.
Below is a list of resources that have been provided for you. Please make multiple copies of the flier and distribute widely in your communities.
Tax Credit Flier in Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
For further information please contact Donna Hercules of the Early Care & Learning Council
at (518) 690-4217 or e-mail dhercules@earlycareandlearning.org
For more information on the federal and state child care credits, visit the
National Women’s Law Center at www.nwlc.org.
FYI: Please mark your calendar and plan now to join the IRS and thousands of other community leaders on Friday, January 27, 2012, as we reach out to people earning under $49,078 on EITC Awareness Day.
Please help us create a buzz in mainstream and social media – in cities and the heartland – telling employees, the self-employed and farm workers that they may qualify for up to $5,751 through the Earned Income Tax Credit. Increasing awareness is critical because to get the credit, they must file and claim it.
