04/01/2024
Action Memo
Summary:
- The IDHS-4039 Free Tax Help notice explains the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and provides information regarding free tax filing assistance.
- The IDHS-4406 EITC flyer encourages customers who were employed in 2023 to apply for the EITC benefit when filing federal and state income taxes.
- The IDHS-4407 Refund Delay notice makes customers aware that there may be a delay in their refund this year. If the customer qualifies for the EITC and/or the Additional Child Tax Credit, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cannot issue the refund before February 15, 2024.
- The IDHS-4039 Free Tax Help, IDHS-4406 EITC and IDHS-4407 Refund Delay flyers will be mailed to cash, medical and SNAP households.
- Workers should encourage customers to file for the EITC if they were employed in 2023.
Customers who were employed in 2023 may be able to decrease the amount of tax they owe and receive a refund by applying for the EITC when filing federal and state income taxes.
The Free Tax Help, EITC flyer and Refund Delay notices will be mailed to cash, medical and SNAP households.
The notices remind customers of their possible eligibility for an EITC, how to apply for an EITC, and how they can receive free tax counseling and tax preparation services.
Customers
Customers who were employed in 2023 may receive the federal EITC benefit by filing for it with their federal tax return. Customers must file a federal income tax return to receive the EITC. Customers can claim the EITC even if they do not owe federal income taxes.
A person who did not apply for an EITC benefit for any of the last 3 years in which he or she worked may be eligible to receive retroactive EITC for any or all those years by filing amended returns.
The state income tax form asks for the amount of the federal EITC a family is eligible to receive. Illinois residents who claim the federal EITC may also get a state EITC that can be worth up to $1,486.
Family Community Resource Center Action
The IRS provides EITC brochures and posters to the Family Community Resource Centers (FCRCs) each year in late January or early February. Provide the brochures to customers as appropriate. Use current supplies until the new ones arrive.
In every face-to-face meeting or telephone contact with customers who had any earned income in 2023, ask if they filed for an EITC. If they did not, encourage them to do so.
Refund Delay
If a customer qualifies for the EITC and/or the Additional Child Tax Credit, by law the IRS cannot issue a refund before February 15, 2024.
Free Tax Counseling and Preparation
Free community-based tax counseling and preparation is available to all low-income families earning up to $64,000 and individuals earning up to $32,000 per year in the Chicago and Springfield areas. The Tax Assistance Program will be offering free tax services by appointment only and will offer in-person tax services.
Most sites offering the Tax Assistance Program will be open between January 27, 2024, and April 15, 2024.
More information can be found at www.goladderup.org.
[signed copy on file]
Dulce M. Quintero
Secretary-Designate, Illinois Department of Human Services
Forms Referenced
IDHS 4039
IDHS 4406
IDHS 4407
