Remember: Don't Pay for Tax Preparation
January 11, 2006

Was your family's income less than $37,000 last year? If so, you may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) refund through your 2005 income tax returns. From February 1, 2006 through April 17th, CILS is offering free tax return help if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Eligible families may get a refund for as much as $4,400 with the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) is a special federal tax credit for people who worked for income in 2005 but who earned less than $11,750 for individuals, or up to $37,263 for families with children, depending on your family size.

To help you find out if you are eligible for EIC, here is a checklist:

• you and your dependents must have valid social security numbers;
  
• you must have earned income from employment or from self-employment;
• you must be between the ages of 18 and 64, or if you do not have a qualifying child, you must be at least 25;
• your qualifying child cannot be claimed by another person to receive EIC;
• you are the not qualifying child or dependent of another person;
• your filing status is not "married filing separately";
• you were a US citizen or legal permanent resident all year in 2005;
• you have investment income less than $2,700;
• you do not need to file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ for reporting income earned in foreign counties;
• you lived in the US more than half of 2005.

Other factors may also apply. CILS can help you figure out if you qualify and what amount you may qualify to get. If you qualify, CILS may be able to complete your tax returns at no cost to you using the I-CAN!™ EIC Module.

The I-CAN!™ EIC Module was created by the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC). CILS is partnering with LASOC to promote the I-CAN!™ EIC Module, and help ensure eligible families claim the EIC and complete their tax returns for free. You can also use I-CAN!™ EIC to complete your taxes yourself by going to http://www.icanefile.org.

FOR ASSISTANCE PLEASE CALL
(866) 573-7058

NOTE: We can only provide free assistance to you if we determine you are eligible for the EIC. However, if you don't qualify for this service, we will refer you to your local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) program for free tax preparation assistance. We urge you to contact us as soon as you receive your 2005 wage & tax statements (W-2s) so that we can determine what assistance we can give you. Do not wait until April! Services may be limited if you wait!

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