Judy Stengel, IRS SPEC
Wichita, KS

People with disabilities experience some of the highest rates of poverty in our nation. Almost three times as many adults with disabilities live in households with total income of $15,000 or less than adults without disabilities. Only 10% of people with disabilities own homes compared to 71% of those without disabilities.

Numerous barriers contribute to this condition, but there are also provisions in the laws that benefit people with disabilities and as a result help alleviate some of this poverty. The key is awareness and education about the availability of programs, including tax credits, and asset building strategies.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was legislated in 1976 as an effort to combat poverty. For nearly twenty years only people with children could claim the credit; however, in 1994 individuals without a qualifying child became eligible to receive EITC. While the $390 maximum credit available to these people for 2004 is not a great amount of money, it is a nice supplement for individuals who are dependent on SSDI and SSI for their basic support.

In December 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) published a research paper citing data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey for 1999 approximating the number of households eligible for EITC. Using Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data they estimated the number of eligible taxpayers who claimed this credit. The report indicated that of the individuals without a qualifying child who earned less than $10,200 (the maximum earned income for 1999), only 44.7% ±3.9% actually claimed the credit.

From the GAO report I drew the conclusion that one group of people, who may not have qualifying children but may earn less than $10,200, are the disabled population who are drawing some Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). They may be individuals who earn money in workshops where pay is based on piecework rather than hours worked. They may be individuals whose disability allows them only sporadic earnings to supplement the SSDI and SSI.

Armed with this hypothesis I approached Marilyn, a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) assistor, at Episcopal Social Services (ESS) in Wichita, Kansas. EES provides case management and representative payee assistance, among other services. I asked Marilyn to talk with case managers and rep payees and request that the individuals they assist who have some earnings but not enough to be required to file a tax return, be sent to her for help. For tax year 2003, 52% of the returns that Marilyn prepared were for individuals without a qualifying child and with income so low they did not have to file a tax return. However, by filing the return they received $9,915 in EITC, an average of $171 each plus an additional average of $26 for the state of Kansas EITC. The ones who had earnings in any of the three prior years but did not claim the EITC were eligible to file returns for those years.

Partly because of this success, Wichita, Kansas has been chosen as one of thirteen cities with the VITA program to pilot an initiative to reach people with disabilities to claim the credit and learn about building assets. The work that we have accomplished in Wichita is not exceptional; it is achieved through the combined efforts of caring individuals and organizations committed to making the lives of people with disabilities a little bit better.

To find out more about joining this coalition to help VITA sites in your city, contact:
Johnette T. Hartnett
202-218-7284
JHartnett@ncbdc.org
www.mastermymoney.org