VITA Tax Season in Full Swing

Pre-K/Head Start Registration Opens March 1!

Head Start/PreK registration for the 2019-2020 school year starts March 1. Registration will be available at 4910 Macon Road, 9 am - 4 pm, and at numerous sites throughout the County. Please call 240-740-4530 to learn more or to schedule an appointment. Registration information is available in English, Spanish, French, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Board Meets with Elected Officials

The Community Action Board is meeting with County Councilmembers to discuss its priorities and opportunities for collaboration. Board members have met with Councilmembers Friedson, Albornoz, Katz, and Riemer, and look forward to meeting with Councilmembers Glass, Navarro, and Jawando in the weeks to come. The Board's key priority issues include early care and education, the EITC and other tax credits, work supports, affordable housing, and food and nutrition programs.

Community Action also participated in the Maryland Community Action Partnership Legislative Day. Staff and Board members joined colleagues from Community Action agencies across the state to meet with elected officials to request funding to strengthen the network's "two-gen" or "whole families" approach to reducing poverty. The County's group met with Delegates Korman and Reznik, and with Senator King's chief of staff. To learn more about the work of Maryland Community Action agencies, please read the MCAP Impact Report. 

CAI Participants Build Advocacy Skills

On February 2, participants in the Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) learned about letter-writing and giving testimony. Board member Pamela Luckett led the workshop, describing best practices for submitting written testimony and presenting oral testimony before elected officials. Participants had the opportunity to begin crafting their own testimony at the session, and all participants will share original testimony at mock County Council sessions held on March 3 and 30.   

Montgomery County 
Community Action Agency
1401 Rockville Pike, 3rd Fl

Rockville, MD 20852
240-777-1697 (main)

240-777-3295 (fax)

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Community Action Partner Spotlight: CASA de Maryland

VITA's Monthly Tax Tip: Six New Schedules Some Taxpayers will File with the New Form 1040

The 2018 Form 1040 replaces prior year Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. Form 1040 uses a building-block approach that allows individuals to file only the schedules they need with their federal tax return. Many people will only need to file Form 1040 and no schedules.

While commonly used lines on the prior year form are still on Form 1040, other lines are now Schedules 1 through 6. Here is a helpful guide for taxpayers:

Schedule 1 - Additional Taxes and Adjustments to Income: Income or adjustments to income that can’t be entered directly on Form 1040 (capital gains, unemployment, prize money, student loan interest deduction, self-employment tax, or educator expenses).

Schedule 2 - Additional Tax: Specific situations (those who owe alternative minimum tax or need to make an excess advance premium tax credit repayment).

Schedule 3 - Nonrefundable Credits: Nonrefundable credits other than the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents (foreign tax credit, education credits, and general business credit).

Schedule 4 - Other Taxes: Certain taxes (self-employment tax, household employment taxes, tax-favored accounts, and additional tax on IRAs and other retirement plans).

Schedule 5 - Other Payments and Refundable Credits: Those who claim specific refundable credits or have other payments withheld (for extensions or excess social security).

Schedule 6 - Foreign Address and Third-Party Designee: To enter a foreign address or for anyone who wants to allow someone other than their paid preparer to discuss their tax return with the IRS.

Upcoming Events:

• March 13, 7:30 pm, Community Conversation on Racial Equity at the Silver Spring Civic Building
• March 19, 9 am - 12:30 pm, Older Adults in the County’s Diverse Racial, Ethnic and LGBTQ Communities at the Silver Spring Civic Building
• March 26, 7 pm, CAB meeting at 8513 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring
• April 13, 8:30 am - 3 pm, Bank On Gaithersburg's 10th Anniversary Financial Empowerment Event at Gaithersburg HS
• May 1, 6 pm, IMPACT Now! at the Silver Spring Civic Building
• May 7 - 9, MCAP Human Services Conference in Hunt Valley

Ongoing Programs at TESS:

• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 - 11:30 am, Literacy Play and Learn Group at TESS. 
• Tuesdays, Now through - March 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Intermediate English Class at TESS 
• Thursdays, Now through - March 28, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, English Language Exchange at TESS
• April 26, 11 am - 1 pm, Senior Social