The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is trying to get the word out about tax credits that Coloradans might be missing out on.
Mandy Bakulski, Maternal and Child Health Deputy Director of State Implementation for the state’s health department, explained that there is still time to file this year’s taxes and earn tax credits for people with lower incomes.
“This year with some of the changes that happened at the federal level, there were some significant amounts that could go back to families — working families, low income families and even families that didn’t have any income — that could really help to lift them out of poverty and give them the resources they need,” Bakulski said.
The first step is to get people filing taxes, as it’s the only way to get tax credits. While tax season ended April 18, the late filing deadline is Oct. 17 to still get tax credits, and people with little or no income won’t be charged a penalty for filing late.
Nearly one in four eligible Coloradans miss out on the Earned Income Tax Credit, which could be up to $6,700 in tax credits for eligible people making less than $57,000 a year. Additionally, 90% of people with a child under 18 qualified for this year’s child income tax credit and don’t need to make any income to get the credit.
“It’s thousands of dollars back in the pockets of Coloradans,” Bakulski said. “It’s not small and to miss out on that amount of a tax credit is a big deal.”
She emphasized that people with little to no income and don’t owe taxes can still get these credits. Reaching those populations that could benefit most but are not claiming the tax credits is a big part of the health department’s effort.
“We know there’s some populations that are less likely to file their taxes,” Bakulski said. “Maybe they don’t realize that they’re eligible for tax credits in the first place. They may have had a low enough income that they don’t owe taxes so they aren’t required to file taxes, but at the same time they then miss out on the tax credits that they could get if they had filed.”
She added that getting the tax credit will not impact benefits. The health department is also working with partners to get their message to non-English speaking populations.
Perhaps most importantly, CDPHE is offering free and verified resources to help Coloradans get their taxes filed. People needing help to file their taxes can use an online tool to do it by themselves, get remote assistance or go to a volunteer tax assistance site — all vetted, approved and free.
“Those that need more in-depth tax assistance can go to one of these volunteer income tax assistance sites, where they could talk to someone and say, ‘This is my situation. Here are the documents I have. I don't know how to get this document, or I need that information,’” Bakulski said. “And those experts can really help guide them.”
As for why the health department is working to help Coloradans with their taxes, Bakulski explained that the root cause of poor health outcomes are connected to wealth and economic resources. Getting extra cash into the hands of people that need it most can help improve their health and self sufficiency.
“I think we really see this as an opportunity to improve a number of the health indicators out there for people, if we can improve economic stability and even mobility — moving people up that economic ladder,” Bakulski said.
Learn more about the resources for filing taxes at www.getaheadcolorado.org or in Spanish at www.haciaadelantecolorado.org.
