Ohio Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce and Attorney General Richard Cordray encouraged members of the Ohio Congressional Delegation to help spread the word to their constituents about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

The EITC is a federal, refundable tax credit allowing people earning low to moderate wages to receive a larger share of their income back on their tax refund. However, many Ohioans who qualify for the tax credit are missing out.

“Approximately 800,000 Ohio families qualify for the tax credit, but as many as twenty percent of these families do not take advantage of it because they don’t know about it,” wrote Boyce and Cordray. “As a result, millions of federal dollars that could be injected into Ohio’s economy are going unclaimed.”

As Chair of the Ohio Commission on the EITC, Treasurer Boyce has coordinated with service and community organizations as well as other state agencies to make Ohioans aware of the tax credit. Along with co-chairs Cordray and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, the Treasurer has been working toward his stated goal of ensuring that every Ohioan eligible for the EITC receives it.

“Reaching out to those community organizations, state agencies, and government officials that have daily interactions with Ohioans is the perfect way to make more people across the state aware that they could be receiving potentially thousands of dollars on their federal tax refund,” said Boyce. “This is how we get the most ‘bang for our buck’ in promoting awareness about the EITC.”

For the current taxes, the earned income credit can add up to $5,657 to a refund with three or more qualifying children. Those married, filing jointly would qualify for the EIC with an adjusted gross income of $48,279 or less.