Many miss tax credits

Too many Queens families are missing out on tax credit programs that could mean thousands of dollars for some families who qualify but don’t know it.
The Tax Credit Outreach Campaign is a statewide network of community organizations, employers, businesses, social service programs, faith-based organizations and others, which promotes informing the public about the Earned Income Credit (EIC), the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Many low and moderate-income workers are eligible for these tax benefits.
This year, EIC is worth more than ever - over $4,500 for some families. Additionally, a great number of families may also qualify for the federal CDCTC, worth up to $2,100 as well as the federal CTC, worth up to $1,000 for each child.
For tax year 2005, more than 1.4 million New York households claimed over $2.6 billion in federal EIC benefits. The amount of the state EIC is not yet available, but approximately 1.3 million eligible taxpayers claimed over $700 million.
Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service has estimated that 26 percent of households eligible for tax credits do not claim them.
The credits can be used by families to help meet their childcare expenses, and some are specifically designed to do just that.
The federal credit for Child and Dependent Care expenses is available to families at all income levels to offset a percentage of qualifying child and dependent care expenses. For families with income of $15,000 or less the credit is worth up to $2,100, though the amount that can be claimed is limited by a family’s actual federal income tax liability. The maximum credit available gradually decreases as income increases. Families with income above $43,000 can receive up to $1,200.
New York offers its own Child and Dependent Care credit to families to offset a percentage of the same qualifying child and dependent care expenses as the federal credit. The maximum value of the New York credit is $2,310 and it is refundable - so even if a family owes very little or no state income taxes, it will be able to benefit from the credit, with some, or all of the value of the state credit received as a tax refund.
For more information about the Tax Credits Outreach Campaign in New York State, contact the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council at 518-690-4217 or dherculeshackshaw@nyscccc.org.