The Internal Revenue Service is asking you to be sure to check and see if you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit or ETIC. I.R.S. spokesperson, Verlinda Paul, says many people don’t get the credit because they don’t know about it.
“Anyone with earnings of less than $49,000 really should see if they qualify,” Paul says. “We’ve found that four-out-of-five eligible workers claims the credit, so we’re really trying to reach that one-out-of-five that may not even realize that they qualify for the credit.”
Paul says the amount of credit depends on income, but also your marital status and family size. You have to file a tax return to qualify for the credit.
“So often people who don’t have a tax-filing requirement may be leaving money on the table. So we encourage everyone to go to: irs.gov, and especially if they make $49,000 or less, to use the EITC assistant to check out if they qualify for this credit,” Paul says.
There is also help available if you want to file a tax return to take advantage of the credit. Paul says,”They can do to a volunteer income tax preparation site and get free tax preparation. There are about 12,000 across the country and the best way to find the one nearest to them is to call 1-800-906-9887.”
You can also file your taxes free on the I.R.S. website at irs.gov. The I.R.S. says around 207,000 families received around 414-million-dollars last year from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit with the average refund being 1,999.