Hey, Baltimoreans, can you use $29 million?
That's roughly how much city residents will forfeit this year by not claiming the earned income tax credit.
The federal tax credit has been putting hundreds and even thousands of dollars into the hands of the working poor since 1975. And this is money you can get refunded to you, even if your wages are so low you don't have to file a tax return.
Last year, 22 million workers claimed the credit and received nearly $44 billion. About 330,000 of those are Marylanders who pocketed $615 million.
Those are big numbers, but the Internal Revenue Service estimates that up to 8 million other workers across the country are leaving more than $10 billion on the table by not claiming the credit.
The IRS is trying to get out the word.
Why do so many fail to claim their money?
IRS officials suspect that taxpayers, especially first-time filers, may not be aware of the credit.
Language barriers might prevent some from claiming it. Or workers figure they're ineligible because they don't make enough to have to file a tax return, says David Williams, the IRS director of refundable credits.
Single people without children often don't know the credit is available to them, adds Joanna Smith-Ramani, director of the Baltimore CASH Campaign. Or workers who lost a job might not realize that their annual income is now low enough to qualify for the credit, she says.
If you are not sure you can claim the earned income tax credit, it's worth checking out.
The maximum credit is $428 for those without children, $2,853 for those with one child, and $4,716 for those with two or more.
And Marylanders can get an even bigger refund. The state offers an additional credit to residents receiving the federal credit. Marylanders with at least one dependent could receive a state refund worth 20 percent of their federal credit. (Next filing season, that amount goes up to 25 percent and the credit will be expanded to include individuals without children, Smith-Ramani says.)
So who is eligible for the federal credit? Here are some of the requirements:
You must have earnings from a job. You need a valid Social Security number for yourself, spouse or any children that you're claiming for the credit. Your investment income can't exceed $2,900, and you cannot file a tax return as "married filing separately."
Income limits apply. Your adjusted gross income must be less than $12,590 if you're single with no children, or $14,590 for married joint filers. If you're claiming one child, your income must be less than $33,241 if single and $35,214 if filing jointly. Or, if you are claiming the credit for two or more children, you income must be under $37,783 if single and $39,783 if filing jointly.
Children, too, must meet three tests for you to claim them for a higher credit. The child must have lived with you for more than half of last year. He or she must be under age 19, or a full-time student under 24. There's no age limit, though, for a child with a permanent disability.
The child must be a son, daughter, stepchild, foster child or sibling - or a descendant of any of these. So, if you have a niece living with you, she could qualify.
The IRS Web site at www.irs.gov offers an EITC Assistant program in English and Spanish to help you determine whether you can claim the credit. It also calculates the amount of your credit based on your answer to questions.
If you're eligible, you will have to file a tax return. Plenty of free filing help is available for those with low to moderate incomes.
The Baltimore CASH Campaign offers free federal and state tax preparation services for those with income under $40,000. You can find the locations by calling First Call For Help at 800-492-0618.
The IRS offers Free File, where companies provide online tax preparation for free for those with adjusted gross income of up to $54,000. You must access Free File program through the IRS Web site.
One word of caution: Be wary of unscrupulous tax preparers promising to increase your credit. They might inflate your credit by falsifying statements on your return. Ultimately, you're responsible and the IRS could hit you with a penalty if the preparer fudged the truth.
Questions? Comments? Or to share a tip with readers, contact Eileen Ambrose at 410-332-6984 or by e-mail at eileen.ambrose@baltsun.com