Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Author: Michael Swayze

  • Today Is EITC Awareness Day

    Today is EITC Awareness Day, a day to promote a program of benefit to working families and individuals.

    EITC is a tax program although it acts very much like a safety-net program. It puts over $1 billion in the hands (or checking account) of New Jersey residents each year. However, it needs publicity every year, too. About 25% of state residents do not taken advantage of the program at tax time, even though the average EITC tax credit is more than $2,000.

    This year the Earned Income Tax Credit page of the New Jersey Community Resources website has had a major revamping. Easy to find links are listed below. Please do what you can to spread the word about EITC to working families, constituents, and co-workers.

    • Find a Location for Free Tax Help
    • NJ Free Tax Assistance Locations
    • Free Tax Site Locations in South Jersey and Philadelphia Area
    • EITCoutreach.org’s Get It Back Campaign
    • IRS’ EITC Assistant
    • MyFreeTaxes
    • Free File
    • AARP Foundation Tax-Aide
    • IRS Publication 596
    • Notice 1015 – “Have You Told Your Employees About the Earned Income Credit (EIC)?”
    • IRS Notice 797 – “Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC)”
    • IRS2Go
    • NJ EITC Page
    • NJ Statement to Employees
    • NJ EITC Informational Flyer

  • Democratic Presidential Debates – Update #4

    Updated: February 13, 2020

    The next three Democratic debates are scheduled for February so as to coincide with upcoming Presidential primaries. These debates will be held February 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire, February 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada and February 25 in Charleston, South Carolina. As of January 29, according to a New York Times article, seven candidates, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang, have met the eligibility requirements set by the Democratic National Committee.

    Upcoming Democratic Party primaries and caucuses are: Iowa caucuses – Monday, February 3; New Hampshire primary – Tuesday, February 11; Saturday, February 22 – Nevada caucuses; and Saturday, February 29 – South Carolina primary. Then comes “Super Tuesday” on March 3 with primaries in Texas, California and fourteen other states.

    The active Democratic contenders are, in alphabetical order:
    Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States
    Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City
    Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
    Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman from Hawaii
    Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota
    Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont
    Tom Steyer, former hedge fund executive
    Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts

    A total of nineteen candidates have dropped out, withdrawn or suspended their campaigns to date. They are, in chronological order:
    Decal Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, February 12, 2020
    Michael Bennet, Senator from Colorado, February 11,2020
    Andrew Yang, tech company executive, February 11, 2020
    John Delaney, former Congressman from Maryland, January 31, 2020
    Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey, January 13, 2020
    Marianne Williamson, author, January 10, 2020
    Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, January 2, 2020
    Kamala Harris, Senator from California, December 3, 2019
    Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana, December 2, 2019
    Joe Sestak, former Congressman from Pennsylvania, December 1, 2019
    Wayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, Florida, November 20, 2019
    Beto O’Rourke, former Congressman from Texas, November 1, 2019
    Tim Ryan, Congressman from Ohio; October 24, 2019
    Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City; September 20, 2019
    Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator from New York; August 28, 2019
    Seth Moulton, Congressman from Massachusetts; August 23, 2019
    Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington State; August 21, 2019
    John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado; August 15, 2019
    Eric Swalwell, Congressman from California; July 8, 2019

    The requirements to participate in the upcoming New Hampshire debate were released in mid-January by the Democratic National Committee.

    The number of Democratic presidential candidates continues to shrink with the withdrawal of three in December, four in January and three in February. There were two dozen plus contenders in July, 2019. The current cast is down to eight.

    Be a voter.

  • 2019 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Information

    The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit for families and individuals who have income from employment. It increases the amount refunded to a taxpayer or reduces the amount of tax owed. For 2018, 576,000 filers in New Jersey were able to be credited $1.4billion with an average tax refund of $2,360. However, almost 25% of eligible New Jersey taxpayers never file for EITC. You must file a tax return to claim your EITC.

    Twenty-nine states, including New Jersey, maintain their own EITC program. New Jersey taxpayers may receive a credit equal to 39% of their federal credit. It is based on their employment earnings, filing status, number of children and adjusted gross income (AGI).

    Income Limits and Maximum EITC Credits
    Number of Qualifying Children Single/Head of Household or Widow(er), Income Must be Less Than Married Filing Jointly, Income Must be Less Than Maximum Federal Credit Maximum NJ State Credit
    No Child $15,570 $21,370 $529 $206
    One Child $41,094 $46,884 $3,526 $1,375
    Two Children $46,703 $52,493 $5,828 $2,273
    Three or More Children $50,162 $55,952 $6,557 $2,557

    The EITC Assistant is an online tool to estimate if an individual or family may qualify by answering a number of questions. The IRS also publishes a one page fact sheet, IRS Notice 797 and a more detailed booklet, IRS Publication 596.

    Free assistance to prepare and file your federal income tax return is available from a number of organizations and programs. The United Way and H&R Block partner to offer MyFreeTaxes. All income levels are eligible to file both federal and state returns for free using MyFreeTaxes.com. Also available is Free File another free, easy to use online software program. Taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is $69,000 and below are eligible. The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program offers free tax preparation to low and moderate-income taxpayers, especially age 50 and older.

    The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $56,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. In addition to VITA, the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older. Most VITA and TCE sites are open February to April.

    The IRS provides a Find a Location for Free Tax Help page. The NJ 2-1-1 Partnership maintains a NJ Free Tax Assistance Locations page. South Jersey residents in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Cumberland Counties, as well as residents in Philadelphia and Montgomery County, can get tax preparation help from the non-profit Campaign for Working Families.

    Non-profits, advocacy groups and government agencies can participate in outreach efforts by promoting the NJEITC page and their NJEITC Informational Flyer. Groups interested in conducting an outreach campaign or promoting EITC on social media should subscribe to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Get It Back Campaign.

    Employers are encouraged to distribute copies of “Have You Told Your Employees About the Earned Income Credit (EIC)?”, available as Notice 1015 by the IRS. The New Jersey Division of Taxation publishes a Statement to Employees.

    Smartphone users can download IRS2Go, the official IRS mobile app. You can use it to check your tax refund status or find free tax prepartion services, or even to send a payment to Uncle Sam.