Sep 28, 2007
Westchester County needs volunteers to help as it gears up to renew its effort to help low- and moderate-income working families obtain federal and state earned income tax credits (EITC).
“Last year, through this program, we helped 2,370 Westchester County residents obtain more than $3.1 million,” said County Executive Andy Spano. “We hope to do even better this year. But we can’t do it without volunteers to help prepare the tax returns for eligible residents.”
The county needs about 100 volunteers to help with this effort. Volunteers will be trained beginning in November and asked to donate time between Jan. 31 and April 15 at one of the designated tax assistance sites in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, White Plains or Peekskill. The hours of operation of each location will vary, with some daytime hours, as well as some evening and weekend hours.
People interested in volunteering should call 2-1-1 to register. You can also register online at
www.westchestergov.com/eitc.
The federal and state credits are tax refunds for working people with low or moderate incomes. Together, the credits can be up to $6,367 to families earning less than $40,000 The amount a family gets varies depending on the number of children in the household and the amount of earnings. The EITC can supplement the wages of low- and moderate-income earners and reduce taxes for those who qualify.
The county’s EITC Assistance program is part of a broader Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a national initiative sponsored by the IRS and the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
The Westchester initiative is a collaborative effort of the following county departments and community organizations: Office of the County Executive; the departments of Social Services, Consumer Protection, and Senior Programs and Services; AARP, SER of Westchester ,Educational Opportunity Center, Urban League and Westchester One-Stop Employment Center.