Help Families Get Tax Credits in 2005 and Get Your Copy of Credit Where Credit Is Due -- from the NWLC

The National Women's Law Center, working with child care advocates across the country, is launching our 2005 national tax credits outreach campaign this week. The campaign is designed to help child care providers and parents who use child care learn about important tax credits and to help eligible families claim these tax credits. The Center is collaborating with advocacy organizations in eight states on intensive outreach campaigns. In addition, state-specific outreach materials are available for many other states. No matter which state you live in, tax credits outreach can help to inform low- and moderate-income families about valuable federal, and in some cases state, tax credits that can help put thousands of dollars in their pockets! We need your help to make this year’s campaign a success.
Visit our Lower Your Taxes page for tools and materials you can use to help families in your community take advantage of these valuable tax credits, including:
A Toolkit for Child Care Advocates, designed to assist advocates in a conducting a tax credits outreach campaign;
Fliers you can distribute in any state to inform families about the federal credits and how much they could be worth, including contact information for free tax preparation services (in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese);
Specific state fliers in English and Spanish for our targeted outreach locations: California (also in Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese), Iowa, Nebraska (also in Vietnamese), New Mexico, New York (also in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian), Ohio, and Oregon;
Specific state fliers in English and Spanish for many other states that have state level Child and Dependent Care and/or Earned Income Credits, including Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin;
Federal tax fact sheets providing a brief overview of the federal Dependent Care Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit;
Specific state fact sheets providing a brief overview of federal and state credits for the states listed above;
Commonly asked question and answer fact sheets about each of the federal credits – Child and Dependent Care Credit, Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Dependent Care Assistance Programs;
Our tax guide, Credit Where Credit is Due: Lower Your Taxes or Increase Your Refund to Help Your Family, for advocates and families who want more detailed information (a Spanish translation will be available soon);
A National press release about the campaign kickoff;
Scripts for radio and television public service announcements;
Inserts for payroll envelopes and other mailings, in English and Spanish, for both the federal credits and for California, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Oregon and a number of additional states.
For more information, visit our Lower Your Taxes page, or contact Kimberly Glassman at (202) 588-5180 or kglassman@nwlc.org.
BACKGROUND
During the 2005 tax filing season, eligible families can claim up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, $1,000 per child from the federal Child Tax Credit, and $4,300 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
In addition, 26 states and the District of Columbia have state child and dependent care tax provisions and 17 states and the District of Columbia have state earned income tax credits, which can provide additional help in paying for child care and other necessities. And in some cases, these tax credits can give cash refunds to families whose incomes are too low to owe income taxes.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
As part of our tax credits outreach campaign, the Center is also releasing our tax guide, Credit Where Credit Is Due: Lower Your Taxes or Increase Your Refund to Help Your Family, updated for the 2005 tax filing season. This guide is designed to inform families about four tax breaks in the federal income tax code: the Dependent Care Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Dependent Care Assistance Program. The information provided in the publication can help families determine their eligibility to receive the credits, provide an idea of the amount of tax assistance families can expect to receive and how to claim it, and answer some other questions about these tax breaks. The guide can also help families decide whether to participate in an employer’s Dependent Care Assistance Program. The booklet is not intended to provide legal assistance but to help individuals understand their eligibility for tax breaks. Click here to view this guide. A Spanish translation will be available soon.

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