Residents Encouraged to ‘Get All Your Tax Credits’
In recognition of Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, January 28, County Executive Marc Elrich encourages residents to “Get All Your Tax Credits.” Residents with household incomes of $58,000 or less may be eligible for the federal, State and County Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) and free tax assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
"In a historic move, Maryland legislators increased the State's EITC and, for the first time, closed the EITC disparity for taxpayers filing with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), who previously were ineligible,” said County Executive Elrich. “In this time when many workers struggle to pay for food and housing and may be earning less because of wages lost due to COVID-19, I am proud that our County responded, especially because 80 percent of the EITC gets pumped back into our County's economy."
This year presents a special opportunity for eligible taxpayers with dependents, and without, to increase their refunds due to increases of federal, State, and local tax credits. Montgomery County is among a few jurisdictions across the country - and the only in Maryland - with a local match to the State's earned income credit, called the Working Families Income Supplement (WFIS). All filers who are eligible for the State EITC or federal EITC are also eligible for the WFIS, which is a 100-percent match of the Maryland EITC. For the first time, those who use an ITIN to file their taxes will also receive the Maryland EITC and Montgomery County's Working Families Income Supplement.
Research indicates that the EITC and the Child Tax Credit are among the best tools available to lift people out of poverty. Studies of the EITC have linked it to numerous other benefits such as increased birthweights, improved maternal health, and decreases in children entering foster care. The EITC can also reduce health disparities and improve educational outcomes for children.
The CASHBACK website provides up-to-date information about Earned Income Tax Credits and free tax assistance in the county. The Community Action Agency (CAA) hosts the County’s only year-round VITA program and oversees the County’s VITA partnership. This tax season, the CAA VITA program is offering free virtual appointments to County residents with household incomes of $58,000 or less. Residents can schedule online at the CASHBACK website or call 240-777-1123.
Monica Goldberg joined the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in 2018, connecting the community with County programs, breaking down language barriers, and working to create training programs to optimize service delivery. In 2020, Monica joined the DHHS Volunteer Emergency Response and Recovery Team to help families in their hardest moments to recover from devastating disasters. As the new CARES Navigation Program Coordinator, she will supervise four CARES Navigators who are assisting residents across Montgomery County. Monica’s undergraduate degree in Psychology and Sociology helps her to better understand cultural differences, diversity, and deliver services in an equitable and inclusive way.
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 The Community Advocacy Institute (CAI) is a free advocacy training program for lower-income Montgomery County residents that was created by the Community Action Board over six years ago. Participants attend monthly workshops about critical advocacy topics and complete an advocacy project. Those who successfully complete the program automatically join the CAI alumni group, a growing network of graduates who meet regularly for informational workshops and receive updates about opportunities in the community. There are now 84 graduates of the CAI from the first five years of the program. Many graduates have continued their advocacy work long after the program, have served on nonprofit boards and County advisory groups, and have been featured in the media.
The following list includes just a small sample of the activities CAI graduates are engaged in:
- Odessa Davis was interviewed by The Washington Post for an article about P-EBT.
- Lynnette Hamrick, Tatiana Lollo, Ramata Diop, Abdul Sesay, and Hyun Martin participated in the first cohort of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Climate Stories Ambassadors Program. You can watch their videos HERE.
- Albert Reed currently serves of the County’s Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, as well as the Maryland Community Action Partnership’s Returning Citizens Workgroup.
- Pamela Taylor and Angela Harvey serve of the Interfaith Works Board of Directors and several CAI graduates have participated in the Interfaith Works Advocacy Committee.
- Vanessa Pierre has participated in numerous food security advocacy initiatives and programs. She was invited to the White House for an event highlighting the Child Tax Credit and was later interviewed on MSNBC. Vanessa was also a keynote speaker at the Maryland Community Action Partnership’s conference. Her presentation included a special video highlighting her work.
The current cohort of the CAI includes twenty participants. The Board will begin accepting applications for the 2022-2023 CAI program in July.
In the early morning hours on January 8th, 2022, a fire at Flower Branch Apartments, on Piney Branch Road in Silver Spring, displaced sixty-three people, including twenty children. A total of eleven apartments were deemed uninhabitable due to smoke and fire damage, including two homes that were destroyed. The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Emergency Preparedness, Response and Mass Care responded immediately. Staff from the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center quickly joined their DHHS colleagues and the American Red Cross to provide interpretation, registration, and intake for twelve families that were transferred to a hotel for temporary housing.
At the hotel, families were provided with culturally diverse meals, water and snacks in their rooms. TESS staff and the Navigators distributed bilingual fliers and mass texts to inform families of available services, and coordinated access to services with County colleagues and community partners. TESS staff and CARES Navigators followed up with the displaced families to provide clothing, food, prescription medications, and other basic necessities. Just as important, the TESS team and Navigators listened to families’ stories, their fears, and concerns. Families were linked to emergency food assistance (SNAP), health insurance, furniture referrals and housing, and began their search for new housing.
The displaced families also received assistance from the DHHS Child and Adolescent Services and Linkages to Learning, including transportation to school; behavioral health counseling from the DHHS Crisis Center staff; the Montgomery County Recreation Department and CHEER hosted an event for the children, who also received activity packets; families have been referred to legal counseling and tenants’ rights assistance, and received COVID-19 testing and vaccines from DHHS Public Health Services.
By January 25, nine of the affected households were moved into new homes. In the meantime, TESS and the Navigators assisted three additional households that were displaced by a fire in Gaithersburg. At this time, all but one of the displaced families has a plan to be rehomed by February 15. The remaining family continues to receive wrap-around services with DHHS colleagues in Services to End and Prevent Homelessness for a better and brighter future.
Community donations to support the displaced families have begun to be distributed through the Montgomery Housing Partnership, and referrals continue for food pantries, clothing from the Interfaith Works (IW) Interfaith Clothing Center, health and dental services, and furniture from A Wider Circle.
The Community Action team, including TESS staff and CARES Navigators, wish to thank all the partners who have assisted families recovering from these fires, including those mentioned above as well as the Latino Health Initiative, the Long Branch site of Montgomery County Public Libraries, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs, the DHHS Abused Persons Program, and the DHHS Office of Eligibility Services.
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From IRS.gov: COVID Tax Tip 2022-03, January 5, 2022
The IRS started issuing information letters to advance child tax credit recipients in December. Recipients of the third round of the Economic Impact Payments will begin receiving information letters at the end of January. Using the information in these letters when preparing a tax return can reduce errors and delays in processing.
People receiving these letters should keep them. Do not throw them away. These letters can help taxpayers, or their tax professional prepare their 2021 federal tax return.
Advance child tax credit payments letter can help people get remainder of 2021 credit
To help taxpayers reconcile and receive all the 2021 child tax credits to which they are entitled, the IRS started sending Letter 6419, 2021 advance CTC, in late December 2021 and will continue into January. This letter includes the total amount of advance child tax credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments. People should keep this and any other IRS letters about advance child tax credit payments with their tax records.
Families who received advance payments need to file a 2021 tax return and compare the advance payments they received in 2021 with the amount of the child tax credit they can properly claim on their 2021 tax return.
The letter contains important information that can make preparing their tax returns easier. People who received the advance payments can also check the amount of their payments by using the CTC Update Portal available on IRS.gov.
Eligible families who did not receive any advance child tax credit payments can claim the full amount of the child tax credit on their 2021 federal tax return. This includes families who don't normally need to file a tax return.
Economic Impact Payment letter can help people claim the 2021 recovery rebate credit
The IRS will begin issuing Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment, to EIP recipients in late January. This letter will help Economic Impact Payment recipients determine if they are entitled to and should claim the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 tax returns when they file in 2022.
Letter 6475 only applies to the third round of Economic Impact Payments, which were issued in March through December of 2021. The third round of Economic Impact Payments, including "plus-up" payments, were advance payments of the 2021 recovery rebate credit that would be claimed on a 2021 tax return. Plus-up payments were additional payments the IRS sent to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment based on a 2019 tax return or information received from the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board or Veterans Affairs. Plus-up payments were also sent to people who were eligible for a larger amount based on their 2020 tax return.
Most eligible people already received the payments. However, people who are missing stimulus payments should review information on IRS.gov to determine their eligibility and whether they need to claim a recovery rebate credit for 2020 or 2021. This includes people who don't normally need to file a tax return.
The Economic Impact Payment letters include important information that can help people quickly and accurately file their tax return.
More information about the 2021 advance child tax credit, Economic Impact Payments and other COVID-19-related tax relief is available on IRS.gov.
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