United Way of Northern Arizona update for Jan. 26

United Way of Northern Arizona is again offering the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This initiative provides FREE help with filing 2017 income taxes from IRS-certified volunteers for households with incomes under $85,000.

Depending on the community, tax filers can either schedule appointments and meet with a volunteer to go over tax forms or participate in Scan2Go, where they can just bring their paperwork to a VITA location to be scanned. A VITA volunteer then completes the tax return and arranges for it to be picked up or mailed to the taxpayer.

• Picture ID of taxpayer (and spouse, if filing jointly)
• Social security or ITIN cards for all household members;
• Proof of income (all W2 and 1099 forms)
• 1095-A form if you purchased health care from the marketplace
• 1098T and college statement for students with qualified post-secondary education expenses
• Name, address and tax ID number of your child care provider and the amount paid to the provider last year (if applicable)
• A copy of last year’s return is also helpful.

The Earned Income tax credit is a tremendous financial boost for working people and our local economy. It can increase a federal tax refund from $1 to $6,318. Last year in Arizona, the average tax credit for qualifying filers was about $2,900.

But the IRS estimates that 1 in 5 eligible taxpayers do not claim and get this important credit. Help us ensure the remaining 20% gets to keep the money they have earned. For more information on whether you or someone you know qualifies for the EITC for the 2017 tax year, check out this table on the IRS website.

Our last bit of tax news today comes from the SaveYourRefund movement designed to encourage people to put aside some of their tax refund for a rainy day.

Started four years ago, SaveYourRefund encourages tax filers anticipating a refund to file a Form 8888, which allows you to direct that part of your refund (as  little as $50) into a savings account, certificate of deposit, IRA, prepaid card, savings bond, or Treasury Direct account.

As an incentive, the promotion invites you to register online for a chance of a cash prize. There will be 100 people selected to get $100 and 2 people chosen for $10,000.

The founders of SaveYourRefund started the promotion to address a tragic situation that faces most Americans: the majority of our population does not have enough savings to survive at even the poverty level for two months if faced with a financial crisis such as loss of income or unexpected medical bills.

The annual federal tax refund is the largest sum of cash many American households receive all year. It’s the perfect time to think about saving some of that cash for a rainy day.

You can find out more about the program and eligibility here.