Earned Income Tax Credit

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. The goal of the program is to reduce the tax burden on low-income workers and supplement their wages, allowing them to climb the economic ladder. It provides a boost in take-home pay that helps offset costs such as higher childcare and transportation that families incur as they strive to become economically self-sufficient.

In tax year 2006, 22.4 million low-income families and individuals across the nation received EITC benefits totaling $43.7 billion. These are families who are working hard, many at more than one job, but whose low wages are preventing them from climbing the economic ladder. The EITC can make the difference in making ends meet.

In the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit was temporarily expanded for two specific groups: families with three or more children and married couples. The Pierce County Asset Building Coalition wants to reach all the eligible taxpayers in Pierce County and help them claim the credits they are eligible for under the EITC, Child Tax Credit, and other credits designed to help them and our local economy in these hard times.