Search the Web Search Warwickri.gov	Warwickri.gov Quick Links Bids Available City Charter City Council Code of Ordinances Council Docket Mayor's Office Sanitation Tax Collection Voting Information

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
"$1,373,372.00 is unclaimed in Warwick, do you qualify for some of this money?

Mayor Scott Avedisian and Jeanne Gattegno, executive director of WestBay Community Action, announced today that the city and the non-profit agency will join forces to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program to Warwick residents.

Although EITC, enacted by Congress in 1975, is the federal government’s largest anti-poverty program, approximately $27 million in benefits were left unclaimed by qualified Rhode Islanders following the 2002 tax season. In Warwick alone, nearly $1.4 million in EITC funds were not claimed.

In order to educate qualified residents about EITC, and to encourage them to apply for the benefits, beginning in January, WestBay Community Action will offer free tax preparation services to Warwick residents who use the EZ1040 form, Gattegno said. The agency is currently seeking volunteers to be trained in tax preparation. Training will take place through the end of the year.

In January, the city, in cooperation with WestBay Community Action, will also launch a public awareness campaign to alert the public to the EITC program, Avedisian said.

“Education of this program will be an important component in helping qualified Warwick families receive the benefits to which they are entitled,” Avedisian said. “A family may qualify for up to $4,300 – funds that would be vitally important in helping them to improve their quality of life.”

“It is imperative to get the word out to those families who may qualify. For many, the EITC will ease the burden of higher home heating costs this winter as well as higher home rental costs. The EITC is good for families and good for the state’s economy,” Gattegno said. “Volunteer tax preparers are the backbone of this program and they will certainly make a difference in a family’s economic life.”

According to the Internal Revenue Service’s website, the amount of income one can earn and still get the credit increased in 2004. Individuals may qualify if:

• They have more than one qualifying child and earned less than $34,458 ($35,458 if married filing jointly),
• They have one qualifying child and earned less than $30,338 ($31,338 if married filing jointly), or
• They do not have a qualifying child and earned less than $11,490 ($12,490 if married filing jointly).
A new provision is the nontaxable combat pay election. Individuals can now elect to have their nontaxable combat pay included in earned income for the earned income credit. For individuals who were a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in a combat zone, certain pay is excluded from their income. They can elect to include this pay in earned income when figuring the EIC. The amount of their nontaxable combat pay should be shown in Form(s) W-2, box 14, with
code Q.

According to the IRS, to claim the EITC, individuals must meet the following rules:
• Must have earned income
• Must have a valid Social Security number
• Investment income is limited $2,650
• Filing status cannot be "married filing separately"
• Generally must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year
• Cannot be a qualifying child of another person
• Cannot file Form 2555 or 2555-EZ (related to foreign earned income)