United Way of Greater Atlanta and VITA Join Forces with the IRS for 15th Annual Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness

The IRS and United Way invites community organizations, elected officials, state and local governments, schools, employers, and others in a national grassroots effort to spotlight the Earned Income Tax Credit on EITC Awareness.

The IRS estimates four of five, or 80 percent, of eligible taxpayers claim and get this important credit. This leaves billions of dollars on the table .each year. The goal is for the remaining 20 percent to receive the EITC they earned. EITC is a financial boost for working people and our local economy and can increase a federal tax refund from $1 to $6,600 for qualified tax payers. It is money workers can use for groceries, rent, utilities and other bills.

In 2020, 22 million workers received about $57 billion in EITC refunds.

New this tax season, under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, taxpayers may elect to use their 2019 earned income to figure the credit if their 2019 earned income is more than their 2020 earned income. The same is true for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For details, see the instructions for Form 1040

We encourage taxpayers to use the recently redesigned EITC Assistant. The EITC Assistant, available in English and Spanish, is an interactive tool on IRS.gov that allows users to verify that they qualify for the earned income tax credit by answering a series of questions and providing basic income information.

Eligible taxpayers can find assistance to claim these credits at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites. Taxpayers can find the nearest VITA/TCE site by using the Locator Tool at IRS.gov, using the IRS2Go app or calling the IRS at 800-906-9887. Those seeking help at the nearest AARP location should use the AARP Locator.