CHENANGO COUNTY – Last year, an estimated $2 million in earned income and other tax credits went unclaimed in Chenango County, and the Earned Income Tax Credit Partnership Committee is working to whittle that figure down, one tax refund at a time.
On Saturday, the EITC Committee will begin tax preparation for 2008, with a kick-off event from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cornell Cooperative Extension, located at 99 N. Broad St. in Norwich.
The EITC Partnership Committee’s volunteer income tax assistance program provides free tax preparation at sites throughout Chenango County for those who qualify. Any individual with a household income of $37,783 may qualify for the free tax service, depending on the number of dependent children in the home. Tax preparation can include electronic filing and direct deposit at no additional cost.
Gary Quarella, of Opportunities for Chenango explained that the volunteer tax preparers receive extensive training before they get into actual tax preparation. “The IRS actually comes to Chenango County and gives training and technical assistance,” Quarella said. In addition, Quarella explained, the IRS has an online training program called “Link and Learn Taxes.” Each volunteer goes through the training and then must test out to determine what level of tax preparation they are capable to perform. “When we see a customer who has a tax question above what our volunteers can handle, we talk to them about their other options,” Quarella said.
On Saturday, anyone who thinks they may be eligible for the free tax preparation can attend the kick-off event to begin filing a tax return or to schedule an appointment for another time. To determine eligibility, call the EITC hotline at Opportunities for Chenango at 336-2101.
Members of the local EITC Partnership Committee include the Chenango United Way, Opportunities for Chenango, Cornell Cooperative Extension, AARP Tax Aid, Colgate University and the Upstate Institute, GHS Federal Credit Union, the IRS, NBT Bank, Bank of America, Chenango County Farm Bureau, Manpower and Morrisville State College.
United Way Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco said she hopes the partnership committee is able to help more people this year than last year and bring more money back to Chenango County. “Too much money goes unclaimed. We need to get people into the tax sites,” Monaco said. Last year the committee filed approximately 500 tax returns and brought nearly $230,000 back to the community in Federal Earned Income Tax Credit alone, and approximately $610,000 in total refunds to Chenango County.
Monaco said her goal for this year is to get customers to refer other individuals who may be eligible for the free tax preparation services. “I want to encourage people to let others know if they might be eligible,” Monaco said, explaining that many people who qualify for the free tax preparation pay $150 or more to get their refunds. “My goal is to do a little PR and get people in to do taxes,” Monaco said.
The Chenango County Branch of the American Association for Retired Persons will also be providing tax preparation sites for taxpayers with low to moderate income, with special attention given to those 60 and over. Those wishing to use the AARP tax preparation should call 337-1770. Representatives for the AARP tax preparation will not be at the event on Saturday.