EITC awareness effort launched

The Low Income Tax Clinic of the University of Idaho has embarked on a campaign to encourage the state’s residents to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Millions of taxpayers who earned $53,267 or less in 2016 may qualify for EITC for the first time, said Abraham Moon, a Low Income Tax Clinic student intern at the University of Idaho College of Law.

A recent analysis by the IRS showed that only four out of five individuals who qualify for the EITC claimed their benefit.

The clinic launched the campaign to promote awareness and have all individuals who qualify claim this benefit.

To see if you qualify, go to irs.gov and type earned income tax credit in the search box. The site will ask some personal questions to help determine eligibility. The process should take less than five minutes. EITC eligibility depends on several facts, including income and family size.

Individuals who do not have a qualifying child and earned under $20,330, may still qualify for a smaller credit, worth as much as $503. If an individual qualifies and claims the credit, it could be as much as $6,242 from the IRS for some workers.