$63.8 Million for the Bay Area

Volunteer to Prepare Taxes: Not as Taxing as You’d Think

October 17, 2011 By Beth Trimarco Leave a Comment

Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, United Way’s free tax preparation program, relies on 3,600 volunteers to ensure that people get the refunds they deserve – volunteers like Kristina Ng. When Kristina first walked into a tax site, she was nervous but prepared. She had no previous experience. However, she had received special training through Earn It! Keep It! Save It! and was now an IRS-certified tax preparer, ready to help demystify taxes for all her free-of-charge clients.

Kristina remembered one client who lived right upstairs from an Earn It! Keep It! Save It! site. The woman had seen the word, “free,” and decided to check it out. She was afraid that she was going to owe money, but when the process was done, she was thrilled when Kristina told her she would be receiving close to a $3,000 refund.

“She was so happy which made me happy,” Kristina recalled. “It was a good feeling to be able to use my skills to lift people up, give them hope, and help them build a future.”

Kristina’s client got her refund because of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which is a credit given to low-wage workers. It is often not claimed because people do not know about it, making free, reliable tax preparation all the more important for those struggling to get by. The EITC can be as high as about $6,000 which can mean the difference between paying rent or being homeless for a year.

Since its inception, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! has brought nearly $275 million in refunds, including almost $99 million in EITC credits, back to low-income residents in the Bay Area. According to Kristina, volunteering is an essential part of the equation: “Volunteering provides a vital resource for people who don’t have money,” she said. “Unlike other tax preparation services that charge, we are volunteering, so we only have one thing in mind: doing good for the people who come in.”

Though tax season is a long way off for some, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! recruits volunteers all year long. So if you are interested in learning a new skill while providing a vital service for our community, go to www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org volunteer and sign up. Training will begin this fall.

Filed Under: Income, Pathways out of Poverty Tagged With: Earn it Keep it Save it, United Way

Take Action to Save Earn It! Keep It! Save It!

October 13, 2011 By Maria Stokes Leave a Comment

We need your help to protect federal funding for VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit), which are essential to United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) tax assistance program. Take action today to ensure the survival of EKS.

Funding for both the VITA program and the EITC could be on the chopping block as the Congressional Super Committee, which is charged with reducing the federal deficit, makes decisions about which federal programs to cut or preserve.

Of the 212 free tax preparation sites in the EKS Bay Area Coalition, 115 are VITA sites. VITA sites not only provide free tax preparation, and bring millions of dollars back to our region, but also serve as an important gateway to services that low-wage workers need, including low-cost banking, job counseling and financial-skills training.

The EITC is one of the largest federal income-support programs and is intended to make employment more attractive than public assistance by supplementing low-wages and incentivizing work. For many low-income families, the EITC is a substantial credit that can mean the difference between being sheltered or homeless.

We need your help to protect funding for these vital economy-boosting programs. Call Congressmember Xavier Becerra (202-225-6235), our California representative on the “Super Committee,” and tell him to protect funding for VITA and the EITC. By calling today, you’ll join thousands of volunteer tax preparers who are participating in the Day of Action declared by the National Community Tax Coalition, which is a membership organization for community-based organizations offering free tax preparation and financial services to low-income working families.

Your call will help ensure United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Coalition continues to grow and succeed. EKS is an important local economic stimulus, which has brought $275 million in tax refunds back to the Bay Area since 2003 – money which is spent locally and which research shows has generated 1,057 jobs in the Bay Area. Read more about the economic impact.

Filed Under: Pathways out of Poverty Tagged With: advocate, Earn it Keep it Save it

$63.8 Million for the Bay Area

August 22, 2011 By Beth Trimarco Leave a Comment

The results are in, and United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! free tax preparation service for low-income residents helped bring in $63.8 million in refunds to our community. That’s money that will get spent locally, generating jobs, sales, and tax revenue for government services.

This news couldn’t come at a better time – with budget cuts on the federal, state, and local levels hitting our communities hard, it’s critical that we bring tax dollars back to local residents.

Included in the $63.8 million was about $20 million in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC), a credit given to low-wage workers. The EITC is often not claimed because people do not know about it, making free, reliable tax preparation all the more important for those struggling to get by.

According to Vanessa Muniz, Regional Director of Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, the EITC can be as high as about $6,000 or 10% of a household’s income in one lump sum. “It can mean being able to buy children clothes and school supplies, fixing a car for work, or having the money needed to pay rent,” she said.

Since its inception, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! has brought nearly $275 million in refunds, including almost $99 million in EITC credits, back to low-income residents in the Bay Area. “Providing the service for free is key,” said Vanessa. “We have no bottom line interest and just want to ensure that people get all the refund they are entitled to.”

To learn more about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! go to www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org.

Filed Under: Income Tagged With: Earn it Keep it Save it, Income, taxes