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The editor is John Ryan at email: perugazette@gmail.com. The Peru Gazette is a free community, education and information website. It is non-commercial and does not accept paid advertising.

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If you earned money in 2019 you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,557

The EITC Coalition the Adirondack Region established the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and AARP TaxAide sites. Representatives present at today’s news conference included (L-R): Project Manager Jose Pitchard, UFirst Federal Credit Union V.P. Jody Carpenter, United Way Director of Development Kathy Snow, IRS Tax Consultant Kathy McNulty, RSVP Director Kate Gardner and AARP District Coordinator Carrie Johnson

By John T. Ryan 

Plattsburgh – Today is Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. If you or someone you know qualifies for EITC the impact can be significant. “People who don’t apply may be missing out on a federal refund of up to $6,557 plus an additional New York State tax credit,” said Kathy Snow Director of Development of the United Way of the Adirondack Region. The Earned Income Tax Credit is for people who work for someone else or own or run a business. If you qualify you must file a federal tax return even if you owe no tax or are not required to file. You could pay less federal tax, pay no tax or receive money back. The amount of credit or refund is based on if you are single or married and if you have no children or the number of children living with you. 

Determining qualification in this region is easy because there are eight free of charge tax preparation sites located in Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties. Last year the eight sites processed over $6 million in income tax refunds. 

Clinton County’s tax preparation site is located at the Senior Citizens Council, 5139 North Catherine Street in Plattsburgh. It is one of the busiest in New York State. Its qualified RSVP tax preparers began preparing returns on January 27th and will be doing so through April 10th. Appointments are not needed or taken. 

SeaComm Federal Credit Union and UFirst Credit Union are participating on Super Saturdays. After having made an appointment taxpayers can stop by either institution for free tax filing assistance. Both institutions are also offering free information about asset building, banking and savings.

The EITC threshold for tax year 2019 is $56,000. The threshold is based on adjusted gross income limits as shown below: 

Earned income and adjusted gross income must each be less than: 
$50,162 ($55,952 if married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children 
$46,703 ($52,493 if married filing jointly) with two qualifying children 
$41,094 ($46,884 if married filing jointly ) with one qualifying child 
$15,570 ($21,370 if married filing jointly) with no qualifying child 

The maximum tax credit for 2019 is: 
$6,557 with three or more qualifying children 
$5,828 with two qualifying children 
$3,526 with one qualifying child 
$529 with no qualifying child 

Click here to see tax preparer locations, dates, times and needed documents 

Editor’s Note: The total tax refunds processed originally read $1 million. It is actually $6 million and that has been corrected.