Community Services Department promoting Federal Earned Income
Tax Credit Program

The Port St. Lucie Community Services Department is encouraging residents to learn more about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and apply if they are eligible.  The EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low/moderate income working individuals and families and is the nation’s largest anti-poverty program for low-to-moderate income families. 

This refund can be used for necessities such as reliable transportation, safe housing, college funds or savings.  The IRS estimates that millions of dollars of Earned Income Tax Credits go unclaimed each year by taxpayers because they lack information or affordable assistance for filing.

Eligible people who fail to claim EITC include people with poor English skills, are self-employed or have service jobs in private households, childless taxpayers and recipients of other types of public assistance such as food stamps.  Port St. Lucie is working to substantially increase the number of families claiming EITC dollars.

The EITC is available to both single-parent and two-parent families with children. The EITC can add as much as $4,716 in returns for tax year 2007 and can even be received throughout the course of the year by completing form W-5 and providing to an employer. 

The following criteria are used to determine eligibility for the EITC.

Earned income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

·  $37,783 ($39,783 married filing jointly) with two or more qualifying children;

·  $33,241 ($35,241 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child;

·  $12,590 ($14,590 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children.

Tax Year 2007 maximum credit:

·   $4,716 with two or more qualifying children;

·   $2,853 with one qualifying child;

·   $428 with no qualifying children.

·   Investment income must be $2,900 or less for the year.

Free tax assistance sites are available at:

Knights of Columbus – 451 SW Ravenswood Lane.

Morningside Library – 2410 SE Morningside Boulevard.

St. Lucie Medical Center – 1800 Tiffany Avenue.

For questions about the Earned Income Tax Credit, call the Community Services Department at (772) 344-4302 or visit the www.IRS.gov Web site.

For more information, contact:
Ed Cunningham
Communications Director
City of Port St. Lucie
(772) 871-5219