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Poor Americans Missing Billions in Earned-Income Benefits

ACORN Offers Free Tax Service to Low-Income Families

January 18, 2007     Spanish version

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A new report finds that more than 3.8 million low-income working households nationwide may have missed out on the Earned Income Tax Credits they were entitled to.

The report, from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) also examines the prevalence of Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) and the amount of money siphoned off through this predatory practice.

Research by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and IRS indicates that between 15 to 25 percent of households who have earned the EITC do not claim their credit. Based on a 15 percent unclaimed rate, low-wage working families did not cash in on more than $7 billion in EITC dollars.

For example, in Atlanta approximately 13,900 low-income working households missed out on over $28.5 million in EITC refunds to which they are entitled. The report also shows that approximately 34,900 EITC recipients -- 44% of the households in Atlanta who received the EITC -- paid for a RAL in 2005 in order to get their refund, costing them more than $4.5 million in RAL fees.

During the coming tax season, ACORN said it will conduct a grassroots door-to-door outreach campaign to help more families claim their EITC benefits.

ACORN will also open a free tax preparation center to enable families to keep more of the money they earned by not spending it on tax preparation and RALs. The tax service started this week at ACORN office nationwide through the end of tax season.

The ACORN Tax Center can electronically file current-year taxes and also provide fast refunds for those taxpayers who would like their refunds direct-deposited into their bank account, usually in as few as 10 days.

The Tax Center is part of the IRS's VITA program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). ACORN is operating 90 tax centers across the country.

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