Asset Independence Coalition

If you have children, you could get cash back and owe less in taxes with the following tax credits:

Child Tax Credit:

You can save up to $1,000 in taxes for each child in your family under 17. The Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit give you money back. To qualify for the tax credit:

• Your child must have lived with you for more than half the year
• Each child must have been under 17 in 2012
• You must have earned over $3,000 in 2012
• You and your child must have valid Social Security Numbers or Individual Tax Identification Numbers.
• You must file a federal tax return

Learn more about the Child Tax Credit.

Forms used to prepare income tax return.

Child and Dependent Care Credit:

If you paid someone to take care of your child (under age 13) or a qualifying dependent (unable to care for themselves), you may be able to get the Child and Dependent Care Credit. This credit can help with the expenses you had to care for them and it will reduce the amount of taxes you owe to the IRS. You must meet the following conditions to claim the credit:

• You paid someone to care for your dependent so you could work or look for work.
• You (and your spouse, if filing jointly) must have earned income, been a full-time student or been unable to care for yourselves.
• You must include the name, address and tax identification number (Social Security Number, ITIN or Employer Identification Number) of the care provider on your tax return. The care provider cannot be your dependent.
• The qualifying dependent must have lived with you for more than half of 2012.
• The credit can be up to 35 percent of your expenses, depending on your income.
• You must include a valid Social Security Number or ITIN for every dependent you claim.
• For children, dependent care expenses include (1) daycare, nursery school or preschool for a child below the level of kindergarten, (2) expenses for before or after-school care of a child in kindergarten or a higher grade (tutoring, summer school or camp can’t be included as dependent care expenses).
• To receive the credit you must file a federal tax return.

Please file your taxes for free compliments of the Asset Independence Coalition and the Capital Area United Way.

If you have any children that are going to college, learn more about tax credits and deductions for students.

Remember, the deadline to file your federal and state taxes is Monday, April 15, 2013.

The Earned Income Tax Credit has made the lives of working people a little easier since 1975. EITC can be a boost for workers who earned $50,270 or less in 2012. Yet the IRS estimates that one out of five eligible taxpayers fails to claim their EITC each year. The IRS wants everyone who is eligible for the credit to get the credit that they’ve earned.

Here are the top five things the IRS wants you to know about this credit.

1. EITC is valuable.  The EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. You base the amount of EITC on your earned income and the number of qualifying children in your household. The average credit was around $2,200 last year. If you qualify, the credit could be worth up to $5,891.

2. Review your eligibility.  If your financial, marital or parental situations change from year to year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules. Just because you didn’t qualify last year doesn’t mean you won’t this year.

Are you getting a refund this year?

3. File your return.  If you are eligible for the EITC, you must file a federal income tax return to claim the credit – even if you are not otherwise required to file. Remember to include Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit, when you file your Form 1040. If you file Form 1040A, use the EIC worksheet and keep it for your records. If you use IRS e-file to prepare and file your tax return, the software will guide you and not let you forget this important step. E-file does the work and figures your EITC for you!

4. Know the qualifications.  You should understand the qualifications for EITC before claiming it, including:

• • You do not qualify for EITC if your tax filing status is Married Filing Separately.
  • You must have a valid Social Security number for yourself, your spouse – if filing a joint tax return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC.
  • You must have earned income. You have earned income if you are paid wages, you are self-employed, you have income from farming or you receive disability income.
  • Married couples and single people without children may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet age and residency requirements as well as dependency rules.
  • Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay as earned income for the purpose of computing the EITC. Even if you make this choice, your combat pay will remain nontaxable.

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You’re helping to Keep Bonds Easy. Now bonds can help YOU win $25,000

You could win cash!

On February 1st, Doorways to Dreams Fund will launch the national SaveYourRefund Sweepstakes which will give tax filers the chance to win cash prizes for saving a portion of their federal refund. With the help of partners in the public, private, and social sectors, the SaveYourRefund Sweepstakes will make saving at tax time rewarding, easy, exciting, and fun!

Not only is this an exciting national opportunity for you to save and win, but it ties directly to our advocacy goals.  By incentivizing tax-time savings in Bonds, we hope to drive use of this important tax-time policy. Growing uptake of tax-time savings bonds purchases demonstrate the importance of this policy to key decision makers in Congress and at Treasury.

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This past Saturday AIC and CEDAM (Community Economic Development Association of Michigan) brought Show Me the Money Day to Lansing.   CEDAM helped make this event happen in NINE cities in Michigan.   You can view more information of Show Me the Money Day here.  The Sponsors of Show Me the Money Day were PNC Bank (title sponsor), WLNS / MY-18 (Media Sponsor), Comerica Bank (Prizes Sponsor) and Independent Bank (Refreshments Sponsor).

It was a wonderful event.  The vendors  were there to educate the attendees on financial management.  Some of the break out sessions included Foundations of Money Management, Do You Have What It Takes to be an Entrepreneur? and Underwater on Your Mortgage? and Refinancing Options.

Everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves, as there were educational seminars, activities for the children and lots of food to go around.

The event had an excellent turnout as close to 90 people attended the event.  The list of vendors included PNC Bank, Flagstar Bank, Fifth Third Bank, GreenPath Debt Solutions, Bank of America, CASE Credit Union, Northwest Initiative, Center for Financial Health, 211, Asset Independence Coalition, Franklin Street Housing Corporation, the Ingham County Treasurer’s Office, Capital Area College Access Network, Ingham County Land Bank and DHS.

The Asset Independence Coalition and the CEDAM would like to thank all of our sponsors that helped make our event a success.  We also want thank LeighAnna Beach of the Franklin Street Housing Corporation for chairing this year’s event.

A CONVERSATION WITH THERESA STEVENS ABOUT A FREE TAX PREPARATION SERVICE

Theresa, you recently took a trip to Virginia – what did you do while you were there?

Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to attend a training session on a federal and state tax preparation program that United Way Worldwide is involved in. It’s easy, safe, secure, and 100% free. I am very excited to be part of this opportunity for so many people to get help with their taxes. And did I mention it’s free?

Free? No kidding! What’s this program about?

This program is a partnership between United Way Worldwide, Goodwill Industries International, National Disability Institute, the Wal-Mart Foundation, and MyFreeTaxes. The partnership provides qualified individuals and families access to an online or in-person tax preparation and filing service for free. To qualify, a filer’s annual income must be $57,000 or less.

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The movement toward common-sense regulation of paid tax preparers has hit a bump, but hopefully not for long.

A federal judge has ruled against the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts at better-safeguarding the financial security of the tens of millions of taxpayers who turn to commercial preparers each year. However, NCTC and the VITA field strongly urge federal policymakers to take the next wisest, appropriate steps necessary to ensure taxpayers don’t lose ground in the pursuit of accurate and high-quality services – steps that include the possibility of an appeal.

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Show Me the Money Day Lansing will feature free financial workshops, opportunities to learn about financial services and homeownership services in your community, free kids’ activities and the opportunity to sign up for free tax assistance.

Place: South Washington Office Complex (SWOC), 2500 S Washington Ave, Lansing, MI 48910

For more information, contact: Amber Paxton, 517-256-1466 or LeighAnna Beach, 517-482-8708 or visit Show Me the Money Day.