EITC and the CASH Campaign
The Virginia Community Action Partnership (VACAP) EITC Initiative supports community groups and local coalitions throughout the Commonwealth as they provide free tax preparation services to low income working individuals and families.VACAP is working to promote the EITC through the Virginia CASH Campaign (CASH stands for Creating Assets, Savings and Hope). Collectively, the mission is to raise awareness of EITC among all taxpayers and to educate workers, employees, clients, and customers of the importance of obtaining all tax credits to which they are entitled.
VACAP encourages financial literacy, savings, and asset building as coalitions develop an outreach program to link EITC with other asset building programs. All programs enable clients to work towards self-sufficiency.
EITC Outreach
» CASH CAMPAIGN LogoEconomic Stimulus Package Tax Rebate Information
You may watch the whole interview by visiting http://www.rctv28.com/videosVR.htm. You can also click and drag to the very end of the interview (about at the 26:40 mark) and hear about the upcoming challenge of making the Virginia EITC a refundable credit then John mentions the grant program. I’m sorry he ran out of time.
Whereas, throughout Virginia’s history, citizens have selflessly volunteered their time, energy and resources in order to preserve our liberty and freedoms; and
Whereas, more than 3.2 million Virginians work hard to enhance the lives of others each year by volunteering in schools, churches, hospitals, youth groups and with other organizations that benefit our communities; and
Whereas, an active and engaged citizenry is vital to the well-being, security and prosperity of all Virginians, and volunteering is both a privilege and an obligation of free people; and
Whereas, the hard work, dedication and creativity of Virginians who volunteer locally, throughout our nation and around the world are deserving of the highest recognition; and
Whereas, National Volunteer Week, honors the many individuals and organization that lend their time, skill and efforts to developing our communities;
now, therefore, I, Timothy M. Kaine, do hereby recognize April 27 - May 3, 2008, as Virginia Volunteer Week, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.
The United Way hosted a money management fair Wednesday at Patrick Henry Community College called "Dollars and Sense." Volunteers gave each student a job, a salary, and a slew of every day expenses that come with it.
Along with a car note and food, students also found out how quickly money disappears when you have to pay for health and car insurance, furniture, and those unexpected items that pop up.
Today everyone is encountering financial concerns, and many men and women are experiencing new and unexpected financial problems due to these challenging economic times.
Learn how to begin to measure your true financial situation and where and how to begin YOUR Personal Money Makeover, so that you will be better prepared for the future. This workshop will provide valuable tips and information to help every attendee to start the journey to a more emotionally and financially stable future. Change doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen over time, once you know how to begin.
From People Inc. - Economic Stimulus Assistance
From Rooftop Of Virginia. Inc. - Free Tax Prep
From the Ferrum College Newsletter: STEP, Inc.From the Virginia News Connection - Predators want to cheat you out of your "economic stimulus" check. Phones are already ringing across Virginia with offers to speed up your payout if you just give them your personal information. If you do, says Carolyn Spohrer (SPOR-er) of the Virginia Community Action Partnership, you may get your check, but you'll probably get your bank account cleaned out.
Don't lose your tax rebate to scam artists. That's the word from Virginia community action organizations who say crooks are already trying to con people out of the checks they are due under the economic stimulus plan. But beware: instead of getting your money sooner, you may get your bank account emptied. Carolyn Spohrer is with the Virginia Community Action Partnership.
Carolyn says, "With this stimulus payment has come a lot of folks fleecing people out of this stimulus by making phone calls saying oh, we can get you the stimulus faster if you give us your social security number and your bank account information. Don’t fall for it, don’t believe it, it will not happen."
Carolyn also says another threat is paying too much to cash your check. She says it's a federal government check that any bank or credit union should be able to cash. She adds that a bank may charge a small fee if you're not a regular customer, but it will be far less than a check cashing store.
Anyone with an income of at least $3000 should be getting a check, but you do need to file a tax return. And Spohrer says you don’t have to pay to get that done. "Your best bet would be to file a 1040A, very simple, front and back of one page, and VITA sites can help you for free, AARP can help you for free. There are professional tax preparers out there who are charging for it, but you don’t need to pay to have something like this done.
The IRS has listed sites in Virginia for March 29th assistance with ESP (Economic Stimulus Payments).
» View Sites in Virginia
For Ferrum College accounting students, the past few months have been extremely busy. A team of students, led by Associate Professor of Accounting, Dave Sulzen, has been crunching the numbers to complete tax returns for low-income people in Franklin County. It’s all part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This is an official IRS sponsored program, providing students with all of the training materials, 3 computers, a printer, and guidance. In return, they provide the manpower. The program is intended to help low-income individuals in the community to get their refunds, and maybe even an earned-income credit.This is the seventh year students have been working with this program. When they first started, they only did 36 returns. However, last year they did over 150, and are expecting to top that this year.
» View Ferrum College NewsletterThe 600 are in addition to the 264 federal tax returns prepared through February, Solomon said. Those returns refunded $275,344 back to clients; the average refund is $1,122. By comparison, last year, the HOPE Initiative completed 104 free income tax returns, resulting in $93,035 in refunds.
The VITA sites were established before Congress approved the stimulus program in…
» Read MoreFCCA has been running the clinic at its office at 50 Sullivan St. in Warrenton since Feb. 5, and will continue doing so through the tax deadline on April 15. The clinic is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a..m to noon.
This year, FCAA is not only offering the free tax preparation service…
» Read More"The VITA program is an essential part of the HOPE Initiative's focus," HOPE Coordinator Alicia Solomon said in a news release. "Through the work of volunteer income tax preparers who are IRS trained, we are able to help families and individuals with incomes of $40,000 or less keep more money in their pockets."
Through the VITA program, individuals and families can get their taxes prepared for free. VITA also works to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families and discourage Refund Anticipation Loans, which reduce the amount of the return that people receive.
All VITA returns are electronically filed so that refunds are received...
» Read MoreRegister today! This online workshop is free to participants, but registration is required.
» Register Now or Get More DetailsTo get this payment, low-income individuals must file a simple 2007 federal income tax return showing at least $3,000 in qualifying income. If the IRS does not receive this tax return, no economic stimulus payment can be made.
» Read MoreThere is a plan date of April 1st to begin accepting the Stimulus Returns electronically, provided that IRS can figure a non-invasive method to accept them. This means that as of now, there is NO acceptable method for electronically filing these returns. TaxWise will continue to display a diagnostic error for returns that fall into this category. There is no reason to flood the IRS with returns that are going to get IRS Rejected.
We have seen some customers add a $ amount to Taxable Interest of Line 21 to force the return to pass diagnostics. We strongly encourage you to advise your offices to NOT do this. At this point, we do not know if this will help or hurt the taxpayer. The IRS does not currently have any way of identifying the return as being filed solely for the purpose of receiving a stimulus check.
The IRS will be communicating regularly with the software developers in an effort to find the best and most efficient way to service this group of taxpayers. If you have to a taxpayer that cannot wait, your only course of action is to follow the IRS guidelines currently posted on IRS.gov and do a “paper” 1040A return with the words Stimulus written across the top of it.
Returns electronically filed with a bank product or with a Split Refund (Form 8888) will not be eligible for Direct Deposit. They will receive a paper check mailed to the address that was on the Main Info at the time the return was electronically filed.
The first wave of direct deposits will be released beginning the week of May 2nd. The IRS will be posting a release schedule of these payments. It will be based on the last four digits of a recipients SSN.
Featuring the stories of three real-life families who struggled with the common pitfalls that low-wage workers often face when purchasing a car, the documentary shows how they overcame these obstacles and provides tips to avoid them. The documentary is provided in both English and Spanish, and a printed discussion guide is enclosed in each DVD package.
» View the Documentary and Learn MoreAt present, the IRS is not able to accept STIMULUS only returns from TaxWise online....
» Read More | » View Sample 1040a Used for StimulusPeople looking to improve their hometown — from helping to fund a volunteer fire department, to restoring a town landmark, to supporting a local school — are encouraged to submit entries. Last year, the program gave away more than $200,000 in total grants and helped communities purchase new band equipment, build a school playground, and fund a tornado warning system, among other projects.
» Learn MoreStarting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million individuals. The stimulus payments will go out through the late spring and summer.
The vast majority of Americans who qualify for the payment will not have to do anything other than file their 2007 individual income tax return to receive their payment this year. The IRS will use information on the tax return to determine eligibility and calculate the amount of the stimulus payments.
» Learn MoreIn light of this, we will be holding a national conference call on Monday, February 18, 2008 from 3:00 – 4:00 (Eastern) to discuss the VITA/TCE software and what we would like it to include. We hope that many of you will join the call. If you plan to join us on the call, please register. You will receive the conference call number on the registration screen.
» Register for Conference Call
» View GREITC Budget Support Letter
» Learn More or Download the Request for Proposal