skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Kindergartners 'critical but stable' after CA school shooting; U.S. hits quarter-century mark focusing on kids 'aging out' of foster care; Record number of women to serve in state legislatures nationwide; Tempe mayor's holiday wish: more AZ clean energy investment.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Senate Indian Affairs chair says a long-imprisoned activist deserves clemency, Speaker Mike Johnson says they may end funding for PBS and Planned Parenthood, and Senate Republicans privately say Hegseth's nomination is doomed.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Limited access to community resources negatively impacts rural Americans' health, a successful solar company is the result of a Georgia woman's determination to stay close to her ailing grandfather, and Connecticut looks for more ways to cut methane emissions.

CT groups help people get unclaimed COVID-era relief money

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 16, 2024   

Several Connecticut groups are partnering to help people claim COVID relief money.

The Get Your Refund Campaign aims to help more than 45,000 families statewide get the enhanced tax benefits they were entitled to in 2021. Internal Revenue Service data show $120 million in unclaimed federal Earned Income Tax Credits for 2019.

Juan Berrios, executive director of the tax assistance nonprofit SimplifyCT, said there are a few key reasons for people failing to collect what's owed them.

"I think it's really just about the level of information and misinformation that was out there during that timeframe," Berrios recounted. "If you recall, our government moved very swiftly, right, so the very first stimulus package was passed and then within a couple of weeks, people were actually getting their checks."

Some people could receive up to $6,700 from the federal Earned Income Tax credit alone, available to anyone who earned $64,000 or less in 2021. The expanded child tax credit is available for any family with children who have a valid social security number. The last day to claim or file for these 2021 missed credits is April 15, 2025.

Campaign feedback has been positive with many families grateful to claim the benefits. Berrios noted some have been leery of claiming the refunds since the credits typically apply to people who do not file their taxes but he added collecting refunds will not affect their benefits.

"Filing taxes does not affect government-provided benefits," Berrios emphasized. "The Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the third stimulus payment, they're not counted as income. They do not affect your other benefits that an individual or a family receives. And, also, it's very important to note that immigrants can also file taxes."

Berrios added given the chaotic state of the world in 2021 due to the pandemic, local tax preparers might not have been open or returns were done virtually. He acknowledged some might fear filing because they owe the IRS money or fear being penalized for not filing but if you're due a refund, you will not be penalized.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence has released a report featuring input from experts in higher education, law and business. The goal is to get ahead of AI and how it will impact various industries. (Kevin Ruck/Abode Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Georgia lawmakers are mapping out the state's future in artificial intelligence. This week, the Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence …


Social Issues

play sound

As word has spread about President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plans, advocates for immigrants in Oregon are working to educate people …

Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin has lost almost one in five of its newspapers in the past year. The state of newspapers has been dismal for years, and the 2024 figures are …


Antimicrobial consumption in farm animals is on the rise in the U.S., while declining in Europe by 44% from 2014 to 2021. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Sophie Kevany for Sentient.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborati…

Social Issues

play sound

This month marks the 25th anniversary of a federal law designed to give states flexibility in helping older kids transition out of foster care…

ALICE families say while wages have increased, it hasn't been enough to keep up with inflation and is sometimes hard to put food on the table. (Konstantin Yuganov/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Wesley Brown for the Arkansas Delta Informer.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Arkansas News Service reporting for The Arkansas Delta Informer-Wi…

Environment

play sound

As President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in next month, the farming community wonders if he'll follow through on tariff threats. One expert says for …

Environment

play sound

By Frida Garza for Grist.Broadcast version by Chrystal Blair for Michigan News Connection reporting for the Rural News Network-Public News Service Col…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021