Agency says families got $8 million in EITC benefits
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Nearly 4,500 low-income families claimed more than $8 million in Earned Income Tax Credit benefits on their tax returns this year with the assistance of the state’s social service agency.
Of the 103 free income tax assistance sites in Louisiana this year, 62 were coordinated by the Department of Social Services, which allowed families to save more than $1 million in tax preparation fees.
A public policy group estimates that Louisiana’s working families leave approximately $100 million in unclaimed Earned Income Tax Credit refunds on the table each year, according to a news release from the state department.
The tax credit is a federal benefit for low — to moderate-income working families with children, as well as some working individuals without children. The department’s Solutions to Poverty Director Drew Murray said in the release that the tax credit, called the EITC, can make a substantial difference in a family’s quality of life, offering the equivalent of a $1- to $2-an-hour raise over the course of one year.
“In dollar terms, the EITC is the nation’s largest antipoverty initiative, lifting more working families out of poverty each year than any other federal program,” he said.
An additional support for working families will come in the 2009 tax-filing season when taxpayers can also claim the new state tax credit.
Of the 103 free income tax assistance sites in Louisiana this year, 62 were coordinated by the Department of Social Services, which allowed families to save more than $1 million in tax preparation fees.
A public policy group estimates that Louisiana’s working families leave approximately $100 million in unclaimed Earned Income Tax Credit refunds on the table each year, according to a news release from the state department.
The tax credit is a federal benefit for low — to moderate-income working families with children, as well as some working individuals without children. The department’s Solutions to Poverty Director Drew Murray said in the release that the tax credit, called the EITC, can make a substantial difference in a family’s quality of life, offering the equivalent of a $1- to $2-an-hour raise over the course of one year.
“In dollar terms, the EITC is the nation’s largest antipoverty initiative, lifting more working families out of poverty each year than any other federal program,” he said.
An additional support for working families will come in the 2009 tax-filing season when taxpayers can also claim the new state tax credit.
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