By Dakota Thomas
State governments can play a critical role in helping their residents get the tax credits they are entitled to receive. Those credits can have a substantial impact in the lives of the individuals and families that need them. Putting more money into the pockets of families also helps state and local economies by creating demand for goods and services. The federal government is working with states to reach out to potentially eligible tax credit recipients, especially the child tax credit (CTC) and earned-income tax credit (EITC).
In a webinar hosted by the White House, a panel of speakers representing various stakeholders emphasized the importance of both “first mile” assistance, meaning outreach and educational efforts, as well as follow up assistance once a person begins the process. The first mile generally involves outreach to make people aware of the potential tax credits and helping determine their eligibility. Several states have experimented with text message campaigns using lists of possibly eligible residents who are using other programs (e.g. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP) and there is preliminary evidence of success with that approach.
State leaders can direct residents to childtaxcredit.gov to help them find out if they are eligible and how to apply. States can track whether residents are accessing this information portal by using their state’s unique URL based on their state postal abbreviation. For example, Georgia’s is www.ChildTaxCredit.gov/GA and Washington’s is www.ChildTaxCredit.gov/WA. States also can partner with Code for America to get help conducting outreach: https://airtable.com/shrnyXVEar34xYEB0
Once an individual has learned about the tax credits and determined they are eligible, they may still need further assistance. For example, many Americans do not actually need to file tax returns, but may still be eligible for tax credits. For “non-filers,” accessing credits is more difficult as they do not interact with the tax system regularly. To help non-filers, the federal government has set up a non-filer portal: https://www.getctc.org/en
More information is available from the webinar: