When is Tax Filing an Economic Justice issue?
Millions of eligible people miss out on the rebate known as the earned-income tax credit (EITC), because they don't file tax returns. Some people have incomes so low that they aren't required to file a return but may not realize they must do so to claim the credit. Others do file returns but don't claim the credit because of its complexity.
About five million potentially eligible people fail to claim the earned-income tax credit annually, according to a report from the Tax Policy Center.
The money is a boon for low-income families. The average credit for a family with children was about $3,200 in 2017, and research suggests families mostly use the money to cover basic needs, repair homes and cars, and get training to boost their job prospects.
Do you want to join a volunteer effort to help Americans claim tax refunds?
The Code for America GetYourRefund team needs volunteers to help bring on more partners, and thus help more individual client tax filers.
To get involved you can expect to take a couple of short tax prep certification tests and to dedicate a few hours a week to providing direct assistance to our partner organizations and their clients. Help us sustain and build this impactful economic justice product!
Code for BTV, the Burlington-based Code for America brigade, is hosting a virtual information meeting with the head of the Get Your Refund project at Code for America, to tell attendees how they can help, and answer questions. And while Code for BTV may be based in Burlington, this event is certainly open to any and all Vermonters (or even farther afield).
To be clear this is an economic justice project that anyone can volunteer to help - there are no technical or programming skills needed! So if you have been looking for a way to help others during the pandemic, that you can do safely from home, this is your chance. Come be a tax rebate hero!
Sign-up to attend (for free) here: https://www.meetup.com/CodeForBTV/events/276217633/
Sep 28, 9 AM to 4 PM, Sep 29, 2024
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Meet the CandidateSep 28, 2024, 12 to 2 PM