About five million potentially eligible people fail to claim the earned-income tax credit annually, according to a report from the Tax Policy Center. Some people have incomes so low that they aren’t required to file a return but may not realize they must do so to claim the credit. Others do file returns but don’t claim the credit because of its complexity. Most VITA sites had stopped offering in-person help, and many people who hadn’t recently filed tax returns had to register on a special I.R.S. In all, about 1,000 volunteers helped 30,000 people file tax returns via Get Your Refund, Code for America reported, with those filers getting an estimated $62 million in refunds, including tax credits and the stimulus payments.

Source: International New York Times January 08, 2021 14:00 UTC