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.

There are 12 days left to file your 2010 tax returns!

From January through April, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! is preparing tax returns for low-income individuals and families in seven counties around the Bay Area. The goal of the United Way-led coalition is to help individuals and families claim their maximum benefits and refunds, especially the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which goes unclaimed by as many as 20% of eligible, low-wage tax payers each year. 

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! ensures eligible taxpayers claim the EITC which be as much as $5,666 per family.  For instance, Mayra Lopez and her father, both loyal Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) clients were both able to claim the EITC this year thanks to the help they received at the EKS site at the San Antonio Community Development Corp.  in Alameda County.

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! is helping thousands of Bay Area taxpayers claim all the refunds and tax credits for which they are eligible.

Mayra learned about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! several years ago, while working as a volunteer for the San Antonio CDC, doing outreach and administrative work. She has been getting her taxes done for free there ever since.  Mayra said, “I used to go to a family friend to do my taxes, but once I learned about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! and their knowledgeable preparers during my volunteer experience, I could see it was a perfect fit for me.”

Mayra added, “The volunteers are great at explaining how to fill out the proper documents, the tax credits that we are eligible for, and then reviewing our taxes when we are done.  My dad now goes to the same site and is able to take advantage of some tax credits that he didn’t know about in the past. I recommend Earn It! Keep It! Save It! and the San Antonio CDC site to everyone that I come across.”

Learn more about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! at www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org.

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! volunteer Aurora Castillo assists a client at San Francisco's MEDA

With approximately one month left in this year’s tax filing season, United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! has already experienced a 25% increase in demand for free tax preparation services that it provides to low- and moderate-income Bay Area households – those which earned less than $49,000 in 2010.  The Bay Area’s largest free tax assistance program, which served more than 51,000 clients last year, kicked off in late January and continues through tax day, April 18.

“We opened in early February, and we have already served as many clients as we did during the entire tax season last year,” said Luis Granados, executive director of Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), which operates one of the 200 Earn It! Keep It! Save It! free tax sites in the region.  “We are seeing a lot of first-time customers – people who now qualify for free tax help and other important credits because their income dropped significantly last year due to job loss or a cut in work hours.”

Kelly Batson, regional director of Earn It! Keep It! Save It! said, “While many of our free tax sites are extremely busy, we have lots of sites that are ready and eager to serve clients during these next few weeks.  We’re encouraging taxpayers not to procrastinate — call 211 now to find the free tax site near you and take advantage of this valuable service.”

She added, “Even if you didn’t qualify for free tax preparation in previous years, this year could be different, especially if you saw a reduction in your income.  Not only will you get your taxes prepared for free, but you’ll also receive expert guidance on how to account for unemployment benefits in your tax return and which tax breaks you are eligible for when your income is down.”

Celebrating its ninth year in 2011, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! provides free tax assistance to households that earned less than $49,000 in 2010.  Since the recession began, the program has proved to be a money-saving resource for the unemployed:  last year, 33% of Earn It! Keep It! Save It! clients reported that they or someone in their household had lost their job in the previous year.  More than one in four (29%) experienced a cut in hours and/or wages.  Six out of 10 clients used refunds to pay bills.

Read the press release, “Demand for Free Tax Help Surges in Bay Area.”

East Oakland resident Jacqueline Countee came to SparkPoint Oakland Center in February to get free tax  filing help, after her brother’s friend, who is a SparkPoint client, referred her.   Free tax help was just the first step for Jackie.

“When I first came to SparkPoint, I just came to get my taxes done and to see if I could get help with my PG&E bill. Before I knew it, I was enrolled in school, and now I’m driving a truck. It’s awesome!” Jackie said.

United Way’s SparkPoint Centers are a one-stop location for a full-range of services, including free tax help and personalized financial coaching , as well as programs that help families move up the career ladder, build assets and manage their credit.

Having worked for many years as a book keeper, Jackie was eager to improve her income. SparkPoint connected her to a subsidized 12-week green-diesel training program, which is offered through The Workforce Collaborative, one of the five partners that work together to serve clients at the SparkPoint Oakland Center.

Jackie received training to secure her Class-A driver’s license, which authorizes her to drive 18-wheel diesel trucks. She has done quite well in the program and is expected to graduate on July 30, when she will receive a certificate that makes her eligible to service and retrofit older, heavy diesel trucks with green-diesel filter systems. This is a valuable skill, given new truck emissions standards recently implemented by the Port of Oakland.

Further, Jackie will qualify to enroll in Alameda College’s Diesel Mechanic Certificate program. Workers in this high growth industry make $15-$20 an hour.

 Jackie’s family owns several trucks that need to be retrofitted with green-diesel and driven, which she plans to do! She is also encouraging her sons and grandson to enroll in the ATLAS Green Diesel training program.

Read more SparkPoint client success stories here.

As we head into the final week of tax season, many of the more than 180 free tax sites across the Bay Area are scrambling to help people who have waited until the last week  to file. Although time is running short, many free sites are still open and have space available help people file their taxes thanks to Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, a United Way-led coalition.  Taxpayers should call 2-1-1 to find the site nearest them (or go here).

Besides helping hard-working families save money, the free tax sites also provide low to moderate income households with access to asset building and income support resources such as public benefits, low or no cost bank accounts and financial education. We also make sure they take advantage of the numerous changes in tax laws and credits such as:

• Increased Earned Income Tax Credit – a larger credit for low-income families

• Making Work Pay Credit – possible $400 or $800 for married couples

• American Opportunity Tax Credit – partially refundable credit for education expenses

• New Vehicle Sales Tax Deduction – on top of your standard deduction

Those credits can add up quickly – especially for families with children– and make the difference for a family on the edge.

And even if you might owe, taxpayers should visit a free tax site to discuss their options. The IRS can be flexible on payment plans, short-term extensions, enforcement, and offers-in-compromise in situations where there is financial hardship.

Taxpayers can call 2-1-1 or 800-358-8832, or go to www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org, to find a free tax site near them.