By Jim Cook
Jan. 27, 2010
Working-class families now have the opportunity to get free, reliable help with filing their taxes thanks to Wallace Community Collegeand Impact Alabama.
Starting on Friday, students from Wallace Collegewill begin offering free income tax preparation services to working families.
“The students are taught basic tax law principles concerning filing status, dependents, and tax credits,” said Delmar Smith, Wallace director of business technologies. “They are also trained to use Taxwise, a tax preparation software that allows the students to quickly prepare accurate returns.”
The program’s aim is to help working families get the most out of tax benefits offered to them. According to ImpactAlabama, the Earned Income Tax Credit is the federal government’s largest and most successful antipoverty program for low-income working families. The EITC is meant to offset the burden of Social Security taxes on the working poor, and encourages work.
The EITC can result in a negative tax liability for some. This means that some taxpayers will get a full refund of any income taxes they paid into the system plus an additional payment when they file their taxes.
Often low-income working families hire tax preparers or take out tax refund anticipation loans to get access to their EITC money, which prevents them from getting the full amount they’re eligible for.
According to ImpactAlabama, about 73 percent ofDothan’s EITC recipients pay an average of $250 for tax preparation or refund anticipation loans.
Smith estimated that Wallace students would help about 100 families with their taxes.
