Free tax preparation throughout the St. Louis, MO region available

ST. LOUIS - Feb. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- On Friday, February 6, City of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay; Gateway EITC Community Coalition (http://gatewayeitc.org/) Executive Director Russ Signorino; IRS Supervisory Associate Advocate, National Taxpayer Advocate Peggy A. Guinn; and United Way of Greater St. Louis Community Economic Development Director Debbie Irwin spoke on the importance of filing taxes and the earned income tax credit for households that made less than $53,000 in 2014.

Up to $40 million EITC refunds may go unclaimed in the St. Louis region this year. This figure represents a substantial loss of revenue for the community and lost income for low-wage workers.

EITC is the largest cash or near-cash assistance program targeted at low-income families after the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. In 2013, 27 million households received more than $65 billion in reduced taxes and refunds that lifted 6.5 million people out of poverty, in which half were children.

EITC is shown to benefit health, better education, increase work and more (http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3793).

Need to know:

• Households that earned less than $53,000 in 2014 may be eligible for the EITC (earned income tax credit) refund.

• The most a household is eligible to receive is $6,143.

• Residents of Missouri and Southwest Illinois can call United Way 2-1-1 or 800-427-4626 any time of day or night to find a tax site near them or go online to GatewayEITC.org (http://gatewayeitc.org/tax-sites.html).

• 27 sites are available to get taxes filed for free throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles and Southwest Illinois.

• People who made less than $60,000 may go online to GatewayEITC.org to file their own taxes if they prefer.

• New this year: Bring in Form 1095-A for those who received health insurance through the Marketplace/healthcare.gov – and Gateway EITC will help file it correctly.

• GECC estimates that 58 percent of low- to moderate-income families or working poor in this community pay an average of $260 for tax preparation. In 2014, GECC saved people nearly $2.3 million in fees.

• The EITC program provides more than $106.6 million in the City of St. Louis, affecting the lives of more than 40,500 families.

• In 2014, more than 200 Gateway EITC volunteers filed more than 8,700 federal taxes that brought in more than $10.3 million in refunds.

About GECC

Gateway EITC Community Coalition is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing tax returns free of charge for households with incomes less than $53,000. Since 2002, GECC has prepared more than 50,000 federal returns at no charge to clients and brought more than $59 million in refunds to the community. www.gatewayeitc.org

GECC is a private/public partnership made up of 36 member organizations. United Way of Greater St. Louis is a key partner in the coalition providing administration, office space and volunteer training. Financial support for GECC is provided by: Bank of America, Bland Family Foundation, Carrollton Bank, Community Development Administration, Graybar Foundation, IRS, Office of the Disabled for the City of St. Louis, Pershing Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, Regions Bank, St. Louis Community Credit Union, United Way of Greater St. Louis, US Bank and Walmart.