Contact: Kreda Yokley, executive director
Phone: 615-742-1113
E-mail:
mckyokley@aol.com
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DATE: January 23, 2007
LEBANON – Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency wants to remind low-income Middle Tennessee families they may be eligible to receive more than $4,500 in an earned income tax credit from Uncle Sam this year.
A married wage earner filing a federal income tax return jointly with two or more children can earn up to $38,348 to qualify for the earned income tax credit in tax year 2006.
“We can help eligible families prepare their returns and get refunds back quickly,” MCCAA Executive Director Kreda Yokley said. “We can also make sure people receive the earned income tax credit to which they are entitled.
“That credit can reduce the amount of tax a person or a family owes and can often result in a sizable refund.”
MCCAA offers free electronic tax preparation services for low-income wage earners. The non-profit agency’s tax-preparation service is part of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“We partner with entities in the community interested in helping low-income families or that already have a relationship with them,” explained Pamela Quayson, a senior tax specialist with the Nashville territory office of the IRS. “Too often many of these people simply cannot afford to go to a paid preparer.
“That’s why the IRS helps train community volunteers on tax law, how to use our software and how to file electronic returns. We’re certainly glad that Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency is involved in this program.”
Since 1971, MCCAA has provided a number of home energy assistance, medical support, transportation, rental, mortgage and utility assistance, and nutritional services to Middle Tennessee families. Agency programs include Head Start and Early Head Start, Self-Sufficiency and Income Tax Preparation. The agency services eight Mid-State counties, which include Cannon, Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson.
For the 2005 tax year, MCCAA electronically filed 279 tax returns for Mid-State residents, netting more than $341,000 in refunds.
The maximum earned income tax credit for an eligible family with two or more children is $4,536 in tax year 2006, according to the IRS. An eligible family with one child can receive $2,747 from the credit while a taxpayer with no child can receive $412 in tax year 2006.
A wage earner married and filing jointly with one child can earn up to $34,001 to qualify for the earned income tax credit in tax year 2006. A single wage earner with one child can earn up to $32,001 to qualify for the credit.
A person with no child must have had earned income less than $12,120 in 2006 or $14,120 if married and filing jointly to qualify for the 2006 credit.
“All of us at MCCAA work hard to improve the quality of life of the families we serve and to help them achieve self-sufficiency,” Yokley said. “Our programs are designed to give those in need the tools and resources they need to become productive members of society.
“The free electronic tax-preparation service we offer is another way MCCAA helps people achieve self-sufficiency and enhance quality of life,” she added.
Elaine Whitney, left, and Shun White, right, of MCCAA’s Williamson County office receive tax-preparation training and certification from Pamela Quayson of the Nashville territory office of the IRS.
For additional information about the services provided by Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency, click here
