Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Kicks Off This Week
January 26, 2010 by Maria Stokes
Last year, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! volunteer helped more than 47,000 low-income taxpayers in the Bay Area file their taxes for free!
In a time of layoffs and foreclosures, there’s some good news for low-income taxpayers in the Bay Area: instead of spending up to $360 on commercial tax preparation services, households that earned less than $52,000 in 2009 can have their taxes prepared for free by Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, the Bay Area’s largest free tax assistance program. The program, led by United Way, will operate more than 180 free tax sites throughout the Bay Area from mid-January through April 15.
“During these tough economic times, saving up to $360 on tax preparation fees, check cashing and costly ‘instant refund’ loans is significant for low-income families,” said United Way Chief Community Investment Officer Carole Watson. “That money can be used to pay for rent, groceries or utility bills. Low-income taxpayers can receive their refunds – every cent! — by going to one of the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! sites, where they will get free, high-quality tax help from an IRS-certified volunteer preparer.”
Earn It! Keep It! Save It! continues to build awareness about the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the nation’s largest benefits program for working families. The EITC, which can boost the annual income of a low-wage worker by as much as 10%, was created in 1975 to offset the burden of Social Security taxes on low-wage workers and provide an incentive to work. This credit is often overlooked by commercial tax preparers, but Earn It! Keep It! Save It! volunteers are trained to identify eligible taxpayers. Over the last several years, the EITC benefit has grown significantly, from just over $4,000 to $5,657, the maximum possible credit for Tax Year 2009.
All Bay Area households that earned less than $52,000 in 2009 are eligible for free tax preparation service and e-filing. EITC eligibility depends on family income and size. Earn It! Keep It! Save It! operates sites in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma Counties. For times and locations, call 2-1-1 or 800-358-8832 or visit www.EarnItKeepItSaveIt.org.
Read the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! 2010 press release.
Join us at our January 29 Fremont kick-off and press conference.
