New Paper: Building Assets Through Free Tax Prep

For millions of struggling American families, filing taxes has become associated with more than just a pile of annoying paperwork. Tax time represents a significant opportunity to build financial security through income supports like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Across the country, service-group coalitions coordinate volunteers at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, sites dedicated to making sure that those struggling families get the most out of the tax time moment.

Today, the Asset Building Program published a paper that analyzes the ground-level asset-building efforts of one such tax-time coalition in Ohio. The paper, by David Rothstein, a research fellow with the Asset Building Program and Director of Resource Development and Public Affairs at Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, offers a look into the asset-building initiatives of VITA sites around the country from the perspective of one tax-time coalition. While Rothstein emphasizes the positive developments of the Ohio Tax Time Coalition over the course of its six-year history, he also notes the need for greater investment due to the tremendous underserved needs of low-income taxpayers in the community.

In addition to serving the crucial roles of encouraging tax compliance and building financial security through take-up of federal income supports, VITA sites provide unique opportunities for innovation in asset-building initiatives. Rothstein discusses one such initiative, the SaveNOW+ program, which has seen success in generating savings among low-income taxpayers. For more information on this initiative or to gain a ground-level perspective of a tax-time coalition in action, please read the full paper.

Click here to read the full paper.