1. Creating Real Economic Impact for People with Disabilities
Earned Income Tax Credit
Disability Initiative Campaign
Disability Initiative started late 2004 with partnership with HHS Office on Disability and National Disability Institute (NDI).
Currently, we have National Partnerships with following Disabled organizations:
Easter Seals
Independent Living Centers-NCIL
Goodwill
The Arc of the United States
United Cerebral Palsy
World Institute on Disability (WID)
Publication 3966 (Living and Working with Disabilities) created for Outreach
The Arc of the United States
National Convention
San Diego, CA
October 14, 2006

2. Stakeholders Partnership, Communication and Education (SPEC)
Mission Statement:
“To assist taxpayers in satisfying their tax responsibilities by building and maintaining partnerships with key stakeholders, seeking to create and share value by informing, educating, and communicating with our shared customers.”
SPEC has a shared mission with many of our partners including disability partners

3. What is SPEC?
SPEC is the Outreach and Education Function Of Internal Revenue Service’s Wage and Investment Division.
SPEC’s Approach is to Combine Resources and Goals With Other Organizations for Better Access to Lower Income Populations In Local Communities.
The SPEC business model incorporates an indirect approach to community outreach and tax assistance, emphasizing collaboration with other organizations and naming relationship management as a key business strategy.
In just over 5 years SPEC has established over 60 national partnerships and has worked with communities to build 301 coalitions, representing thousands of local organizations.
Life of their own
The range of community-based coalitions now in various stages of development shows dramatic promise in terms of the impact gained by so many diverse organizations working as a team. Building on mutual interests and benefits translates to greater help for more individuals at increased efficiency.

4. Elderly (over 60 years of age) Limited English Proficient Disabled
SPEC Key Customers
Low to Moderate Income
Elderly (over 60 years of age)
Limited English Proficient
Disabled
We now work with all four groups and have implemented strategies for each target segment by 2007.

5. Earned Income Tax Credit
The EITC is the largest federal aid program benefiting working families:
Over $40 Billion to 21 Million Working Families and Individuals
EITC is approximately equal to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Food Stamp Programs combined (in total dollars)
Ten times the size of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program

6. Earned Income Tax Credit
The EITC is the most effective anti-poverty tool for working families
Lifts over 5 million individuals out of poverty each year, including 2.6 million children
Has ability to turn a $7 per hour job into an $9 per hour job
2006 Tax Year Benefits up to $4,536 for families with 2 children and $412 for individuals with no children

7. What Does EITC do for Working Families?
2006 EITC maximum refund amounts:
Up to $4,536 with 2 or more qualifying children
Up to $2,747 with 1 qualifying child
Up to $412 with no qualifying child
Maximum Credit Example TY06: MFJ The maximum credit available when Earned Income is:
No Qualifying Child $ 5,200 –$ 6, = $ 412
1 Qualifying Child $ 7,800 - $16, = $ 2,747
2+ Qualifying Children $11,000 - $16, = $ 4,536
To get at least $1,000 of EITC the least & most you can earn HH or QW is:
1 Qualifying Child $ 2,950-$ 24,750
2+Qualifying Children $ 2,500-$ 30,500
To get at least $1,000 of EITC the least and most you can earn as MFJ is:
1 Qualifying Child $ 2,950-$ 26,750
2+Qualifying Children $ 2,500-$ 32,500

8. Why is EITC Important to Individuals and Families?
Helps Individuals Keep Working and Care for Themselves and Their Children by Allowing Them to:
Pay For Reliable Transportation
Secure Convenient Child Care Options
Cover Medical Expenses
Buy Food and Other Basic Necessities
Keep Current on Rent and Utility Payments

9. EITC and the Disabled
EITC provides $$$ to the working disabled without negatively affecting other benefits (SSI, etc.)
EITC can be claimed even if no tax return is required to be filed
Children with disabilities qualify with no age restrictions

10. Earned Income Tax Credit
Now That We Know What EITC Is and Why EITC Is So Important – What Can Be Done to Assist People with Disabilities and Their Families?

11. Community Based Partnerships
Awareness and Education
Asset Building
So what are we (IRS) doing about it? Community Based Partnerships model
By this we share a common interest:
Helping the working poor find family economic success.
This model is a three-prong approach:
Outreach, Awareness and Education
Free tax preparation, and
Building assets such as Individual Development Accounts
(otherwise known as IDA’s) and home ownership
Each of these provides a valuable opportunity alone, but they are most powerful when linked together.
Community-based coalitions help not only individual families but entire communities by multiplying the effects of the services.
By identifying mutual interests, organizations working together have much greater access to taxpayers and can offer the important intangibles of credibility and trust.
Community- Based Coalitions
Tax Preparation

12. Why is Tax Education Important for Persons with Disabilities?
Many People with Disabilities are not Aware of EITC
Concerns over Interaction of Disability Benefits and Tax Filing
Missing out on other Tax Benefits and Credits
We are working to help take the fear out of filing by getting the word out how EITC credits and other refunds interact with public benefits such as SSI, SSDI, Food Stamps, TANF, Medicare, Veteran’s benefits, etc.
Center on Budget and Priority Policy (CBPP) has already produced a PowerPoint on this subject and added a section to their annual EITC Toolkit

13. Why Are Tax Preparation Services Important to Persons with Disabilities?
Complexity of Tax Law
Tax Preparation Fees Erode the Value of Refunds
Must File if They Have Earned Income to Receive Refunds of Credits/Withholding
Opportunity to Link to Asset Building Strategies
Organizations can work together to offer free tax return preparation assistance in their communities.
Brookings Institute - $200 on average per tax return
Free tax prep gives us the opportunity to ensure that all credits are received. You can help working families with free filing of their tax returns.

14. Why are Asset Building Opportunities Important to People with Disabilities?
54% of People with Disabilities have no Savings Accounts and 69% do not have a Checking Account
33% of Adults with Disabilities Live in Households with Total Income of <$15,000 Compared to Only 12% of those without Disabilities
58% of People with Disabilities are Asset Poor (Do not have enough resources to live at the Federal Poverty Level for three months)
Development of assets is the key to development of poor households. The pathway out of poverty is not through consumption but through savings and accumulation of assets. When people begin to accumulate assets, their thinking and behavior changes.
Consider the following statistics:*
Over 10 million families are unbanked
50% of unbanked households are headed by persons under age 45
33% have no or negative financial assets
Comprises 46.9% of all children
One out of three have no retirement savings
78% of college students have at least one credit card
*Source of statistics: National Summit on Economic & Financial Literacy (May 13-14, Washington, DC)
Building Assets (Corporation for Enterprise Development/CFED; December 2001 Publication)
Progressive Policy Institute Case Study - "Taking the Poor Into Account" written by Anne Kim for the Federal Reserve Board)
Sources: 2004 N.O.D/Harris Poll & 2000 U.S. Population Census

15. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
VITA – Free Tax Preparation
Saves $100 to $300 in tax preparation fees
Quick refunds via direct deposit- avoids costly Refund Anticipation Loans $50 - $100
No check cashing charges 1%-3%

16. VITA National Numbers VITA in 2000 (SPEC First Year): VITA in 2006:
1,127,362 free tax preparation
52% Electronic Filed returns
VITA in 2006:
2,247,280 free tax preparation
83% Electronic Filed returns
SPEC started out in 2000.
FREE TAX PREPARATION has doubled.
E-FILE has increased from ½ the population to over 4/5 of the population is electronically filing. It is faster, FREE (if done by a VITA site) and mistake free

17. Economic Impact of the EITC on San Diego County
Tax Year 2004
171,649 returns claiming EITC
Received refunds = $ 294,497,713
173,821 returns with EITC (2,218 disallowed < 2%)
The other 171,649 generated $ 294,497,713 in refunds
22% were single,
31% not claimed prior year
72% done by paid preparers
2% done by VITA One of the most successful is the San Diego Countywide EITC Coalition whom we’ll look at next.

18. San Diego Countywide EITC Coalition
2005 – Return Refunds:
5,162 Total Returns = $ 7,119,610
2,332- EITC Claimed = $ 3,883,965
Preparation Fees Saved = $ ,000
Over $7 Million Brought Back Into the Community Using VITA
This is an example of what a mature coalition can accomplish. Note: These numbers are from the partners computer software and therefore is more up to date (TY2005) than the previous slide.
23 VITA sites in mature (four year old coalition) Nine primary members with 14 additional partners
Targets working families
92% e-filed
At $150 per return, an estimated $ 774,300 in tax preparation savings (more if RALs factored in) Refund Anticipation Loans.
The value of not having to deal with the IRS because their return was done correctly cannot be underestimated. It does take special training and knowledge to do the EITC correctly.

19. TAX FACTS+ Campaign
TAX FACTS+ Campaign (link persons with disabilities and their families to free tax preparation and asset building services)
Expanded to 54 Cities in 2007
Over 100 cities by 2008
The purpose of the TAX FACTS campaign is to build knowledge and utilization of favorable tax provisions and financial education for individuals with disabilities, their families and employers to empower and advance self-directed economic security.
TAX FACTS is a three-year multi-faceted national campaign that will empower 36 communities working with persons with disabilities to participate and expand their knowledge and utilization of favorable tax benefits and financial education services. TAX FACTS will direct needed public attention to the advancement of economic freedom and full community participation of persons with disabilities. The campaign has three parts that include materials development and dissemination, training, and technical assistance activities.
(Hand out TAX FACTS+ flyer)

20. Activities and Outcomes
NATIONAL PROGRAM
Increased number of tax filers with disabilities by 330%.
5,211 tax filers in 2005
17,233 tax filers in 2006
Over 200 disability partners engaged in 2006
342,554 outreach contacts made in 2006

21. Successes Wichita West Palm
Assisted 340 People With Disabilities in 2005
Prepared 56 Tax Returns for People with Disabilities that had no Filing Requirements
West Palm
Distributed 150,000 Copies Regarding Their Tax Campaign that Included Information about Accessible Sites.
Prepared 559 tax returns for People with Disabilities
340 includes Kansas and sales tax returns
(over $7,000 in EITC rec’d for 56 returns)

22. What Can Your Organization do to Help?
Provide EITC outreach
Join Existing Coalition Efforts
Become Part of The Disability Workgroup
Educate Clients
Educate Employees
Become a Free Tax Preparation Site
You can help promote tax credits in your community by using your communication network so that more eligible people receive tax credits, bringing more dollars into your community.
If your group is looking for ways to get involved in this local area, VITA is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door.
Other ways are:
Host Disability Meetings
Take Leadership Role
Conduct a filing season Kick-off event
Issue a Mayoral proclamation
Develop or donate publicity
Adopt a VITA site
Provide speakers on asset building
Sponsor a bank account program that offers matching funds.

23. Resources www.mastermymoney.org (NDI website for TAX FACTS+)
(IRS Disability Brochure)
(IRS site on EITC)
(Center on Budget and Policy Priorities site and Access to EITC Toolkit)
(National Tax Coalition site)
(Brookings Institution)

24. Contact Information
If you have questions, need additional information or would like to receive EITC or any other educational materials, please contact:
Richard Keeling – Senior Tax Analyst
( )
401 West Peachtree Street STOP 53WI
Atlanta, GA 30308