Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray says hundreds of Ohioans have a thousand-dollar check waiting for them to cash….if they knew where to find it. Experts believe that as many as one in every five people in Ohio eligible to receive payments from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit don't know about it, don't ask for it, and don't get their money.
Meanwhile, tens of millions of dollars that could be helping Ohio 's economy go missing.
Both problems concern U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray.
“This is a refund program specially-designed to help people who are working, but don't earn a high wage,” said Treasurer Cordray. “More than 800,000 Ohio families and individuals do claim and receive this credit. But tens of thousands of Ohio families aren't aware of the program or don't know how to get started. If they did, they could put an extra $4,716 in their pockets to use for gas, heating costs, emergencies, school clothes, food, or housing. Ohio 's families and Ohio 's economy would both benefit if more people were aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit.”
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has proclaimed January 31, 2008 “EITC Awareness Day” nationwide in an effort to grab the attention of the many eligible citizens who are unaware they qualify. As a part of this special observance, Ohio Treasurer Cordray and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown have teamed up to record public service announcements telling Ohioans about these available federal dollars. These PSA's are available immediately to radio and television stations and cable systems around the state.
“We're also trying to save Ohioans from losing any of this money, once they have learned about the EITC,” explained Senator Brown. “We understand that EITC recipients often feel they have to pay someone to prepare their taxes, in order to properly gain access to this money. In fact, most of the people who are under the income limits to qualify for the EITC also qualify to have their taxes prepared for free . If they make use of this service, they'll keep from handing over hundreds of dollars to some tax-preparation business when they could instead put that money to better use for their family.”
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the annual earnings maximums to qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit are:
- Individuals: $12,590
- Individual with one child: $33,241
- Individual with two or more children: $37,783
- Married couple: $14,590
- Married couple with one child: $35,241
- Married couple with two or more children: $39,783
Local coalitions in many Ohio communities offer free tax preparation to people whose income falls below these limits, often in cooperation with the IRS's “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance” or “VITA” program. In a report released today, the policy research institute Policy Matters Ohio estimated that local coalitions in five of Ohio 's major metro areas provided free tax return preparation to 15,752 Ohioans in 2007, bringing more than $19 million in EITC and other refunds into the state (see this full report at www.policymattersohio.org/eitc/WhoTakesCredit2007.htm).
In most of Ohio 's metro areas, citizens can call a local community action line by dialing 2-1-1; operators there are often able to schedule free income tax preparation. Or, to learn more about local EITC coalitions and free tax preparation, log onto www.yourmoneynowonline.org.
