WEBINAR: Tax Time 2021: What we know about the “lookback” and how organizations can act on it to support low-income families
Thursday, January 28th, 3pm EST
The American jobs crisis continues to escalate at an alarming rate. Nearly 1 million people filed for first-time unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis in the US in just the first week of 2021. Based on these early signs, tax refunds that low-income families receive this year are more important than ever.
Every year, low-income working families can count on their Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) to provide a vital financial infusion to their households. However, widespread unemployment threatened EITC and CTC eligibility in 2020, and Commonwealth analysis showed some families were on track to receive refunds up to 80% smaller than typical. Fortunately Congress included a “lookback” provision in the relief package that passed December 21st. It now falls to organizations that serve and support working families to ensure this policy translates to household impact, including by raising awareness of the policy and explaining important steps that tax filers need to take to take advantage of it.
Join Commonwealth for a follow up to our November tax time webinar where Jason Ewas, Senior Policy Manager at Commonwealth, along with a group of tax expert panelists, will provide the latest updates on the lookback and its implications on low-income Americans. We will also outline how organizations can help ensure that every eligible household maximizes their refund including: how to leverage our toolkit to communicate about the lookback to tax filers, how to access additional resources, and how to advocate to ensure effective policy implementation.
Moderator
- Jason Ewas, Senior Policy Manager, Commonwealth
Panelists
- Alan Gentle, Manager of the Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment, City of Boston
- Annelise Grimm, Associate Program Director, Code for America
- Nina Olson, Executive Director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights
