Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Tag: IRS

  • Direct File: Offers free federal income tax filing

    Millions of tax filers will be able to file electronically, easily and safely, their federal income tax returns directly to the Internal Revenue Service for free, beginning Monday, January 27.

    The Direct File pilot program rolled out to taxpayers in 12 states in 2023. For the upcoming season it will be available to 32 million residents as a permanent program in 25 states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is available as an option, if you live in any of the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

    Go to directfile.irs.gov then click the box that reads, “Check eligibility now” to see if Direct File suits your needs. If you are not eligible you can connect with alternative filing options, particularly Free File. See https://panjcommunityresources.info/earned-income-tax-credit/.

    There are limitations to the new Direct File program, based on an IRS strategy of implementing new features after vigorous testing.
    1) It does not enable filing with itemizing deductions but is available to those who claim the standard deduction.
    2) There are only 25 states where the program is available, although the agency expects more states to join. (Illinois joined the program in January, 2025.)
    3) Direct File is programmed to accept only certain types of income and household income within a defined income range.
    4) A limited number of tax credits are currently incorporated into Direct File.
    5) You live and only worked in a participating state.

    Earlier this month, 141 Members of Congress sent a letter to Trump nominees in support of the expansion of the Direct File program, maintaining it would save taxpayers $11 Billion. The signers included the following area representatives: Senate: Cory Booker, Andy Kim; House: Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Dwight Evans (PA-3), Madeleine Dean (PA-4), Mary Gay Scanlon (P-5), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Chris Deluzio (PA-17). For a full list of signers see text of letter.

    Twenty-nine House Republicans, including Mike Kelly (PA-16), issued a press release in December recommending termination of the program.

    The program was part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Biden. Don t let Washington lobbyists get their way again and make you pay $100, $200, or more to some big corporation for the privilege of sending your tax form to the IRS. Providing a way to file directly via Direct File is long overdue.

    For contact information of New Jersey and Pennsylvania representatives, see https://panjcommunityresources.info/nj-pa-congressional-delegations/.

    • EITC Awareness Day

      Once a year at the end of January the Internal Revenue Services and its partners do a one day media event to advertise the Earned Income Tax Credit program, a tax program that has been around since the Nixon Administration. Today, January 27, 2017, is another EITC Awareness Day.

      The good points about EITC are that it provides tax relief for low and moderate income working families. The IRS even encourages people to take advantage of it. They partner with software companies to make tax filing free to many households. Checkout Free File. EITC tax refunds lift millions out of poverty and make life a little easier.

      The bad news is that one out of five households do not take advantage by claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit. In New Jersey, an estimated 197,000 taxpayers are losing out of an average EITC refund totaling approximately $2350. Do the math – unclaimed tax refunds equal to $462 million. To make matters worse, New Jersey once was recognized as a leader of EITC but now has sunk to near bottom, 45th among 50 states, in the EITC participation rate ranking. See https://www.eitc.irs.gov/EITC-Central/Participation-Rate.

      Here are a few tips. To find a free tax preparation site (generally if you make $54,000 a year or less) visit either NJ 2-1-1 Partnership’s NJ VITA Sites or IRS Get Free Tax Prep Help Page or the AARP Tax-Aide Locator.

      To first find out if you qualify, visit the EITC Assistant. By answering all the questions you can find out if you are eligible for EITC. The tool also provides an estimate of the amount of your credit.

      Employers have a responsibility to let their workers know about this program. They should be distributing a notice titled, “Have You Told Your Employees About the Earned Income Credit (EIC)?” Ask your employer to runoff copies and attach it to W-2 statements.

      There are a number of web sites useful to IRS partners, employers, government agencies/offices and nonprofits. These website provide outreach material, flyers and other social media tools. They include: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Get It Back Campaign and EITC Central. County welfare agencies and One Stop Career Centers distribute the Division of Family Development’s 2016 EITC Fact Sheet.

      EITC Awareness Day – can you afford to do without it?

      Other useful tax preparation assistance information is available at the NJ Community Resources website.

    • EITC Awareness Day – January 25, 2013

      EITC Awareness Day is a one-day blitz for mainstream and social media to reach the broadest possible range of potentially eligible taxpayers. In 2012, 26.5 million low and moderate income households received $60.7 billion under the Earned Income Tax Credit. If you worked and had income under $50,270 find out if your are eligible for EITC.

      There are a number of contact points to determine if you qualify. They include calling the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-1040 or the New Jersey Division of Taxation at 888-895-9179. In New Jersey you can call the 2-1-1 Partnership by dialing 2-1-1 or 877-652-1148 to get free help filing your taxes.

      Free help in preparing your tax return – you can claim EITC even if you had nothing withheld from your paycheck – is available through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide or at Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout New Jersey and nationwide. The 2-1-1 Partnership maintains a list of VITA and AARP Tax Assistance Sites in New Jersey.

      Also, a number of organizations in and near New Jersey promote EITC and provide free tax preparation service to qualifying individuals and families. They are:
      Mercer County CASH Campaign
      Newark Now
      New Jersey Citizen Action
      Our neighbors in Philadelphia can also contact either Ceiba or Campaign for Working Families.

      Nonprofit organizations that wish to become actively involved in promoting EITC should contact either the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities or the National Community Tax Coalition.

      Additional details and web links are available on New Jersey Community Resources website on the Earned Income Tax Credit page.

      To claim your EITC tax credit you must file a tax return.