Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Category: Community Resources

  • EITC Awareness Day

    January 29, 2021 marks the 15th time the Internal Revenue Service has publicized EITC Awareness Day. It is a day when various organizations try to spread the word about a tax program of importance to working people.

    Here are a few numbers worth thinking about.

    78 percent of households claim the Earned Income Tax Credit when they file their federal taxes. EITC is a credit that increases your tax refund or reduces what you owe Uncle Sam. 78% also means that 22% don’t claim the EITC.

    2300 dollars is a typical Federal EITC refund for families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

    58,000 young workers in New Jersey will be able to take advantage of the New Jersey EITC for the first time when filing their 2020 tax return. New Jersey expanded their program by lowering the age requirement from 25 years to 21.

    65,000,000,000 dollars – $65 billion – is about the amount received by 25 million eligible workers and families in EITC, according to IRS statistics.

    Millions did not receive a stimulus check in 2020. The 2020 tax form has been redesigned for those who missed out. People who did not get an Economic Impact Payment may be eligible for a Recovery Rebate Credit. For details, please read the article, “What do I do if I didn’t get my first or second stimulus checks?” by Christine Tran of the 2020 Get It Back Campaign. See the IRS page for more questions and answers about the Recovery Rebate Credit, especially for those who did not file a tax return last year.

    Often overlooked are a number of programs available to help taxpayers file tax returns free. These programs include: MyFreeTaxes, a joint partnership of United Way and H&R Block; Free File through the IRS. (A word of caution, to use Free File at $0 cost go through the IRS portal, not at a tax preparation company’s website.) Be sure to check your household income and the free programs income requirements.

    Free tax counseling and tax filing is available through the VITA or TCE programs, short for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly. This year, some VITA/TCE sites are not operating at full capacity and others are not opening. To locate an open site near you, use the VITA/TCE Locator Tool or the AARP Site Locator Tool.

    Additional information is available on this website’s Earned Income Tax Credit page.

  • How Non-Filers Can Get Their Federal Stimulus Check

    Millions of families are missing out on a $1200 or $2400 federal stimulus check, officially known as an Economic Impact Payment, because they did not file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service. According to a report issued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “About 12 million Americans risk missing out on the stimulus payments provided through the recent CARES Act because they must file a form by October 15 to receive it.”

    Households may still be eligible for payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). To claim the payment non-tax filers must complete a “Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info Here” application and provide simple information. Issuance of Economic Impact Payments do not affect various social benefit programs, such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid. The stimulus payment is a tax credit and does not count against social programs or as a Public Charge.

    It is estimated there are 725,00 adults and children in New Jersey and Pennsylvania alone who missed receiving automatic payments, totaling $725 million.

    According to IRS, the following may be eligible for the Economic Impact Payment: U.S. citizens, permanent residents and qualifying resident aliens who:

    • Have a valid Social Security number,
    • Could not be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer, and
    • Had adjusted gross income under certain limits.

    To apply use the IRS Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool if you are not required to file a federal income tax return for 2019 for any reason, including:

    • Your income is less than $12,200
    • You’re married filing jointly and together your income is less than $24,400
    • You have no income

    Information you will be required to provide includes: full name, current mailing address, an email address, dates of birth and valid Social Security numbers, bank account and routing number, if you have one, driver’s license or state-issued ID, if you have one. To provide the required information individuals must create an account with IRS, providing their email address, phone number and establish a user ID and password.

    Additional information is available on a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, titled, “Aggressive State Outreach Can Help Reach the 12 Million Non-Filers Eligible for Stimulus Payments.”

    The deadline to apply is October 15, 2020.

  • PA Register to Vote Flyer

    At the eulogy for George Floyd we were reminded our movement won’t rest. We will continue to fight on until there is justice. To those who have marched and protested around our country and throughout the world, thank you.

    For more than a year a number of us have been working hard to register voters in Philadelphia. A few months ago a group coalesced to become the Philly Voter Engagement Network, meeting on a weekly basis to promote voter registration and voter engagement. My contribution this past Friday was the development of a Register to Vote flyer. Feel free to post it in your community, share with organizations and networks.

    The flyer was created for these COVID-19 times. A person can scan the QR Code with their smartphone and fill out the PA Department of State’s PA online voter registration form. Another QR Code (QR is short for quick response, created by a company, Denso Wave) links a prospective or a re-registering voter to a page for printing a hard copy voter registration application form.

    The register to vote flyer will be an effective tool for registering or updating a voter registration record under the following conditions:

    • Attached to a sign while in public spaces
    • Attending protest marches, rallies or vigils
    • At other socially-distanced events
    • Placing on community bulletin boards
    • Displaying in local shop windows

    Feel free to copy, distribute and reproduce this flyer. Share it with your network.

    Together, we know our voices can be heard. Be safe. Be a voter.