Northern Nevada workers may be eligible for a special tax credit this year and not even be aware of it. The IRS and the Treasury Department has declared Saturday, Jan. 29 as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day as partners nationwide, including United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS), work to highlight the availability of this important tax credit that helps workers keep more of what they earn.
EITC is one of the federal government’s largest benefit programs for working families and individuals. Last year, more than 210,000 Nevadans filed for EITC and the average credit was more than $2,100 per person. Historically, one in five workers have missed out on thousands of dollars every year because they fail to claim their EITC.
“Many people will qualify for the first time this year due to changes in their economic circumstances,” said Karen Barsell, United Way CEO.
Barsell encourages any worker who earned $48,362 or less from wages, is self-employed or works in the farming industry to see if they qualify.
To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they do not have a filing requirement. Potentially qualifying taxpayers include workers who are:
- living in rural areas
- self-employed
- receiving certain disability pensions or have children with disabilities
- without a qualifying child
- not proficient in English
- grandparents raising their grandchildren
- recently divorced, unemployed, or who experienced other changes to their marital, financial or parental status
Free help from IRS trained volunteers is available to EITC-eligible taxpayers in northern Nevada beginning this week at several public libraries, family resource centers and other locations. For a complete list of locations and hours, visit www.nevada211.org or call 2-1-1 for more information. If taxpayers would like additional information about EITC, they can visit irs.gov and type “EITC” in their preferred search engine.
