The Challenge:

• Each year, eligible North Carolina workers and their families lose more than $132 million dollars because they fail to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit - the actual figure is probably closer to $250 million.
• When coupled with the fact that most EITC dollars are spent locally, this means that the state easily loses another $350 million in local economic stimulus – money that could be boosting the state’s economy, especially in its most disadvantaged communities.

EITC Carolinas helps by:

1. Ensuring that eligible workers and families claim valuable tax credits, especially the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit;
2. Lending support to a network of community free tax preparation sites that are part of the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program where IRS-certified volunteers prepare federal and state tax returns for free for those with incomes of $50,000 or less;
3. Linking workers and families to opportunities to pay down debt and build savings at tax time;
4. Researching state policies that support worker and family economic stability.

EITC Carolinas is an initiative of MDC, Inc., a private non-profit organization in Chapel Hill that has helped the South to build equity and expand opportunity for over forty years.

RELATED INITIATIVES:

• North Carolina Asset Building Policy Task Force:

  The N.C. Assets Alliance (NCAA) began in 2006 as a joint initiative with the IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of NC. With the goal of assessing and improving the policy framework for asset building, the Task Force now includes over forty organizations and agencies and is a CFED Assets and Opportunity Scorecard Partner.  For more information on the Assets Alliance, its policy priorities, and a list of participating organizations, click here.

•  The Asset Building for Persons with Disabilities Project:

Another joint initiative with the IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of NC, this project is supported by the N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities and works closely with the National Disability Institute. The project works to ensure the active participation of the disability community in the Asset Building Policy Task Force, has developed an Assets Toolkit for persons with disabilities that is now being tested in the field in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington, and has funded several small community demonstration projects.

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

We are grateful to the following funders for their support of EITC Carolinas and MDC’s related projects:

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
• The State of North Carolina
• The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
• The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• The N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities
• CFED