United Way of the Southern Tier and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation have joined forces to provide free tax preparation, filing and other social services to hardworking individuals and families in the Southern Tier and across the country who qualify for the Federal Government’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program and can earn up to $5,666 in tax credits for the 2010 tax year.

Although more than 26 million people received nearly $59 billion in EITC in the 2009 tax year, up to 25 percent of qualified workers did not claim their tax credit, according to Internal Revenue Service data. Further, 67 percent of EITC filers are using paid preparers to file their taxes when they are eligible to receive free tax preparation and filing services at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, supported by partners such as United Way and Bank of America.

Over the last several years, the bank has invested $4.5 million in grants to support and expand these volunteer-assisted free tax preparation efforts. In 2011, United Way chapters in 65 markets across the country, including United Way of the Southern Tier, will offer these services at VITA locations through April 15, 2011. Locally, these services will be available through the Creating Assets, Savings & Hope (CA$H) program at sites across Chemung, Steuben and Schuyler counties. CA$H appointments are available by calling 2-1-1 Helpline.

The effort, which is part of the larger Bank of America-funded United Way Financial Stability Partnership™, is designed to improve the financial well being of lower-income individuals and families by providing tools to increase their income, build savings and develop and maintain their assets.

Last year in New York State, local United Ways and their coalition partners trained close to 2,000 volunteers who contributed 98,000 hours to 224 VITA sites across the state.  Nearly 57,000 tax returns were prepared and $36 million in EITC refunds and $96 million in total refunds resulted from those efforts. Locally, CA$H volunteers completed nearly 3,700 returns in 2010, bringing back more than $6 million in returns.

This year United Way of the Southern Tier is one of 16 local United Ways in New York State benefiting from Bank of America funding.

“With support from Bank of America, United Way chapters across the country are helping even more families improve their financial stability during these tough economic times,” said Ron Hatch, United Way of the Southern Tier President. “Bank of America and its employees bring awareness and resources to an important program, increasing access to free tax filing and tax credits that bring critical dollars back into communities.”

Over the last several years, Bank of America associates have provided thousands of volunteer hours to help working individuals and families claim valuable tax refunds and will continue these efforts in 2011 at participating United Way VITA sites. 

Eligibility Criteria for Tax Year 2010:
Earned Income and adjusted gross income must each be less than:
• $43,352 ($48,362 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
• $40,363 ($45,373 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
• $35,535 ($40,545 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
• $13,460 ($18,470 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

Tax Year 2010 Maximum Credit:
• $5,666 with three or more qualifying children
• $5,036 with two qualifying children
• $3,050 with one qualifying child
• $457 with no qualifying children