suffolk - City of Virginia Beach

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Outreach effort of South Hampton Roads EITC Coalition

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Collaborations with: o IRS o South Hampton Roads Earned Income Tax Coalition o AARP Tax Aide o United Way o Community Leaders like You

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Chris Neighbor – IRS SPEC Sharon McDonald – Norfolk Commissioner of Revenue Sharon Gares – AARP Teresa Walker – Virginia Saves Mark Campbell – IRS Tax Advocate

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History of EITC Credit and its necessity in helping people in poverty o Established in 1975 to offset Social Security Tax burden and to provide incentive to work o Refundable Credit available to low and moderate wage workers o Credit available even if no other filing is required • Example: A low income family may not have sufficient income to be required to file, but if they do not file they do not gain access to the credit.

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History of EITC Credit and its necessity in helping people in poverty o Nation’s largest anti-poverty program for working families • 27 Million Households 2011 (2010 Tax Year) Source: eitcstats • $60 Billion 2011 (2010 Tax Year) Source: eitcstats • Study by Dowd and Horowitz 2011 found ½ of all taxpayers with children received the EITC at some point. This credit has a broad reach.

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Virginia o Impacts 590,000 Households o Refunds $1.25 Billion Earned Income Tax Credit NOT refundable to taxpayer for Virginia State Tax The Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Service estimates the value of volunteer time to be $24.29 per hour. VITA volunteers throughout Virginia contributed over 50,000 hours to the program. ($1 million value).

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New in 2013: o Refunds in the Commonwealth of Virginia will not be issued via check. All refunds must be automatically deposited to an account. o For taxpayers who do not provide an account, a prepaid card will be issued. Virginia offers free fillable forms with no income or age qualifications. Low Income families can use efile options available at Virginia Department of Taxation website.

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Each City Commissioner of the Revenue Office offers State Tax Preparation services

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Some Commissioners offer federal tax preparation services as well

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State Tax Website: www.tax.virginia.gov

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Data analysis provided based on data provided by IRS for the tax year 2010.

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Databook available at www.shreitc.com

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CHESAPEAKE: there is potential for the EITC to bring $48.5 million into the local economy. In tax year 2010 nearly $39 million was refunded as a result of this credit. NORFOLK and PORTSMOUTH: more than 70% of total refunds are to low income potentially EITC eligible tax payers FRANKLIN AND ISLE OF WIGHT: more than 30% of all returns were EITC eligible and 68% of all refund dollars were attributable to the EITC. SUFFOLK: 37% of all returns prepared claimed the EITC while 58% of all returns were attributable to low income households. VIRGINIA BEACH: the most populous city in the area, has the greatest number of EITC eligible households at 35,461 receiving more than $74 million in refunds in 2010.

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More than 66% of all households in South Hampton Roads in 2010 were eligible for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. A large number of these households would also be EITC eligible. Key Beneficiaries of EITC Industries o Disabled workers

o Young Families o Displaced workers o Military

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Service Retail Hospitality Call Centers Construction Administration

REGION BY INCOME

AGI > 50,000 34%

AGI >25000