TAX CREDITS FOR FAMILIES COULD BE WORTH THOUSANDS

Wednesday, 01 February 2012 10:20

Written by Administrator

(New York) The Early Care & Learning Council is working with the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) to launch a tax credits outreach campaign today to ensure thatmore low‐ and moderate‐income families are aware of, and claim, available federal andstate income tax credits.

“Eligible families could receive thousands of dollars from federal and state tax credits this year,” said Jane Brown, Executive Director of Child Care Resources of Rockland.“Families in Rockland County are facing incredible economic pressures. We encourage all families, especially those with young children, to look into, and take advantage of these tax credits if eligible”.

Federal and state tax credits can help offset the cost of child care and other expenses for working families. For 2011, families may be eligible for a number of federal tax credits, including:

• Earned Income Tax Credit, which helps provide a wage supplement for low and moderate‐income families (those earning less than $49,078 annually). Thiscredit is worth up to $5,751, and is refundable.

• Child Tax Credit, designed to help families offset some of the costs of raising children. This credit is worth up to $1,000 per child. Families who owe little or no income tax can receive some or all of this credit as a refund if they earned atleast $3,000 in 2011.

• Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, designed to offset some of the child or dependent care costs that families incur in order to work. This credit is worth upto $2,100, though the amount that can be claimed is limited by a family’s federal income tax liability.

In addition, New York also offers families five other refundable credits:

• New York State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, worth up to $2,310;

• New York City Child Care Tax Credit, worth up to $1,733;

• New York Earned Income Tax Credit, worth up to $1,700;

• New York City Earned Income Tax Credit, worth up to $288; and

• Empire State Child Credit, worth up to $330 per child.

“These tax credits can help families in Rockland make ends meet in these tough economic times,” Brown said. “Our goal is to help more families learn about the benefits of these tax credits, so they don’t miss out.”

As part of the NWLC campaign, the Early Care & Learning Council will work with state child care organizations, social service providers, and advocates to educate families about valuable federal and state tax benefits as well as the availability of free tax preparation assistance in their communities. The launch of the campaign coincides with Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, an effort of the Internal Revenue Service toinform the public about the Earned Income Tax Credit and the requirements to claim the credit.

NWLC has developed an online resource for parents and advocates with user‐friendly fliers about both the federal credits and individual states’ tax provisions. Materials are available in Spanish and other languages. To learn more about federal and state taxcredits, visit www.nwlc.org/LowerYourTaxes.

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