Financial Outreach Initiative/Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

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The Financial Outreach Initiative began during the 2002-2003 academic year. The project mission is to organize, implement, and sustain a multi-university project concerned with various forms of asset development for low-income communities in the Philadelphia region.

During the 2005 tax-filing season, students from Swarthmore College, Widener University, Rosemont College, Bryn Mawr College and Villanova University provided free tax services to over 1000 filers who collectively received over $1.27 million in refunds. The target audience for this effort is low-income filers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This credit has been touted to be the most effective way of lifting a family above the federally defined poverty line. In order to accomplish this, we created a special working group, Delaware County Asset Development or "DelCoAD" to oversee this project as well as discuss ongoing issues with regard to asset development in the county.

Organizations participating in DelCoAD are:

• Centro de Apoyo Comuntario
• Chester Community Improvement Project
• Chester Education Foundation
• Chester Microenterprise Partnership
• Community Action Agency of Delaware County
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services of the Delaware Valley
• Darby Borough Community Development Corporation
• Delaware County Family Centers
• Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union
• Internal Revenue Service - Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication
• Office of Housing and Community Development, Delaware County
• PathWaysPA, Inc.
• Rosemont College
• Swarthmore College
• United Way of Southeast Delaware County
• United Way of Southeast Pennsylvania
• Widener University
• YWCA of Chester

The Community Action Development Commission of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (CADCOM) has also developed a free tax prep program and has since connected with Bryn Mawr College for support .

• Scroll down to see locations and hours of operation for each Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site in Delaware and Montgomery Counties (updated for 2008)
• Click here for a Fact Sheet about the EITC

In future years, we hope to expand the VITA sites to offer other public benefit enrollments such as food stamps and health insurance. In addition, we hope to expand to other areas of asset development, such as Individual Development Accounts, financial education, savers clubs, microenterprise development, and micro-loan funds.

While the Financial Outreach Initiative has been conceived of as a community outreach program primarily, it is also serving well as a means toward recruiting business students to work in community settings. Thus, the partnership between the colleges and the community organizations has been mutually-beneficial.

If you would like more information about this program, please contact Hillary Aisenstein at 215-573-2379 or hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu

If you would like to join DelCoAD, please contact Hillary as well.

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2008 VITA Sites

VITA Sites will open some time during the week of January 27, 2008 depending on the site. For the most up to date information and schedule - and to schedule an appointment - contact the site directly. Volunteers should contact Evan Foley at PathwaysPA to sign up and get training dates and information. Evan can be reached at or 610-543-5022.

Delaware County

Chester Education Foundation Community Hospital 2600 W. 9th Street Chester, PA 19013 -- map it

Wednesdays, 6:30 – 9:00 PM Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM Call 610-364-1212 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 28 - Apr 12, 2008

Community Action Agency of Delaware County Wesley House location 701 Madison Street Chester, PA 19013 -- map it Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 2:00-8:00 PM Call 610-872-2611 In operation: Jan. 30 - Apr 12, 2008

Darby Borough Community Development Corporation 11 N. 9th Street Darby, PA 19050 -- map it Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM Call 610-586-0867 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 31 - Apr 12, 2008

Delaware County Family Centers Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital St. Bernard Hall, 2nd floor 1515 S. Lansdowne Avenue Darby, PA 19050 -- map it Mondays, 5:00 – 8:00 PM Call 610-532-2811 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 30 - Apr 12, 2008

Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (On-site banking available) 1450 Edgmont Avenue Chester, PA 19013 -- map it Mondays and Tuesdays, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Saturdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Call 610-619-7002 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 27 - Apr 12, 2008

North Chester Baptist Church 2331 Providence Ave. Chester, PA 19013 -- map it Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Call 610-619-7490 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 27 - Apr 12, 2008

PathwaysPA at Is available for "mobile" tax preparation at your site in Delaware County. Call 610-543-5022 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 19 - Apr 12, 2008

Montgomery County

CADCOM 113 E. Main St. Norristown, PA 19401 -- map it Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 4:00 - 7:00 PM Saturdays, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Call 610-277-6363 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 27- Apr 12, 2008

Family Services Pottstown, PA Call 610-630-2111 for an appointment. In operation: Jan. 27- Apr 12, 2008

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

The EITC lifts an average of 5 million families above the poverty line each year.[1] However, over 20% of those families qualifying for the credit do not apply for it.[2] Furthermore, according to a Brookings Institution study, an estimated $1.75 billion of EITC monies are diverted to “paid preparers” for tax preparation services.[3] This is money that could help low-income families, and boost local economies; instead it ends up in the hands of “paid preparers”.

In the city of Chester in Delaware County 4,921 EITC returns were filed last season. This placed over $9 million into the hands of Chester families. However, 60% of the claims were filed with “paid preparers”, which means that a great many of those dollars went to pay for tax preparation services. Those services cost an average of $93 per return. Furthermore, 67% of the filers opted for the “refund anticipation loan” option, and that adds to the cost of the tax services provided.

In Montgomery County $2.8 million of EITC monies were not claimed in 2001. This let’s us know that awareness of the program is NOT wide spread enough. Additionally, 6,856 ineligible claims were filed, which hints at misinformation of the program. The good news is that about $19 million was claimed in Montgomery County.

In order to keep more money in the pockets of these low-income families and individuals we must step-up our VITA work in Delaware County. This year we will be closely aligned with a major Philadelphia initiative – the Campaign for Working Families. We are also evaluating curricula to be used in financial literacy seminars, free to the public, that will educate low-income families on financial planning, saving, and repairing credit.

Quick Facts

• EITC, enacted in 1975 with bipartisan support, is a federal tax credit that recognizes the economic contributions of working families

• For 2007, the maximum credit is $4,716, and families with incomes up to about $37,000 may qualify

• If you did not claim the EITC on your federal tax return last year, you can still amend your past returns to claim the credit for several prior years.

• IRS Publication 596 ("Earned Income Credit") provides a detailed explanation of the EITC eligibility requirements, includes worksheets to accurately compute the EITC, and it even explains how IRS compute your EITC for a taxpayer. The IRS publication is available online at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

EITC Eligibility

Rules for Everyone:

• Must have a valid Social Security Number issued by the SSA
• Filing status cannot be married filing separately
• Must be a US citizen or resident alien all year
• Cannot file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ
• Investment income must be less than $2,900
• Must have earned income

Does Your Child Qualify?

• Child must meet the relationship, age & residency tests
• Taxpayer cannot be a qualifying child of another person
• Qualifying child must have a valid Social Security Number

Rules with No Qualifying Children

• Taxpayer must be at least 25 years old but under age 65
• The taxpayer (or spouse if filing a joint return) cannot be the dependent of another person
• Taxpayer cannot be a qualifying child of another person
• Taxpayer must have lived in the US for more than half the year

[1] Berube, Alan and Anne Kim. The Price of Paying Taxes: How Tax Preparation and Refund Loan Fees Erode the Benefits of the EITC. The Brookings Institution. May 2002.

[2] In 1999 24% of those eligible in Philadelphia County did not apply for EITC. Similarly, in 2001 about 20% of those eligible did not file EITC in Montgomery County. (according to IRS filing data for corresponding years)

[3] H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt alone prepared 15.6% of all filed 2001 returns. Furthermore, 52% of EITC filers filed with “paid preparers” in 2001. (The Price of Paying Taxes)