Californians: Don't Forget About This Tax Credit

CALIFORNIA -- A state lawmaker this week reminded the public about a state tax credit that California families can use. In an opinion piece for the Sacramento Bee, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said families "are missing out" on the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Atkins, alongside Bob Annibale, the global director of community development and inclusive finance at Citi, wrote that billions of dollars are "left on the table" because not enough California families are applying for the tax credit.

"It is available to workers between ages 25 and 64 who earn less than $39,000 to $54,000, depending on their filing status and number of children. In 2017, 2.9 million tax filers in California received $6.8 billion in credits," they wrote in the Sacramento Bee.

The Earned Income Tax Credit was established in the 1970s as a benefit for families with low to moderate incomes, according to the Internal Revenue Service. However, not all eligible Californians are applying for the tax credit.

"California residents leave approximately $2 billion in tax credits on the table, with one of the nation’s lowest rates for filing for the credit. That money is badly needed in a state where rents are among the nation’s highest and where 45 percent lack the savings to cover even a modest emergency cost," Atkins and Annibale wrote.

For more information about the Earned Income Tax Credit, go to irs.gov.

--Patch file photo