Just File It!
Free Tax Preparation Services
I-CAN! E-FILE
It’s free!
www.icanefile.org
I-CAN! E-File was created by the Legal Aid Society of Orange
County (California) to help individuals complete their federal tax
forms and claim EITC without being charged excessive fees.
(No special software is needed. Just need Adobe Reader.)
– How does it work?
• A credit union member goes to the homepage for their credit union and clicks on the Just
file it! We’ll help. icon, this takes them directly to the I-CAN! E-File site.
• Taxpayers can access I-CAN! E-File via the Internet from their home, a library, a partner
site or any other location with an Internet connection.
• Taxpayers go through a series of secure web pages and input answers to simple,
interactive questions.
• Once all of the questions have been answered, the information is compiled and placed on
federal and/or state tax forms that can be e-filed or printed and mailed in.
Using I-CAN! E-FILE
– Launch Date : January 20, 2009
– Go to www.icanefile.org and use the Online
Training demo
Some I-CAN! E-File limitations
• Can’t use I-CAN! E-File if:
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Own business
Are a church employee or clergy member
Sold Real Estate in the tax year
You or your employer have a non – US address
Individuals with disabilities or in the military may be eligible for tax
credits not included in I-CAN! E-File.
A small number of people should not use I-CAN! E-File:
Persons who are Blind because there are complicated credits this person may be eligible
for and I-CAN! E-File cannot complete these forms;
Employees whose employer contributes to child care costs; and
Self- Employed individuals if they want to amortize equipment or itemize deductions
What tax information is needed to file?
• Your Social Security number
• Your spouse’s and children’s names as they appear on the Social Security
card and their Social Security numbers
• All forms that show the income you received in the past year. These may
include:
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All W-2s from employment for you, your spouse and your children
Bank statements which show interest earned on deposits
1098Ts which list educational expenses
Your unemployment statements
• Child care information such as:
– Name, phone number and address of child care facility or individual
– Amount paid during the year for child care
– Federal taxpayer identification number or Social Security number of facility or
individual
– Whether or not your employer pays part of the child care
Steps in the filing process
• First, you will create an account with your Name and Social Security
Number. Next, you will answer questions for your federal and then state,
return. Then you will print and review your return to make sure it is
complete and correct. Once you are satisfied you can mail or e-file your
return. If you e-file your e-file status will then be "Pending".
• The next step if you e-file is to come back to www.icanefile.org in 2-3 days
and click on "Check My E-file Status" on the right. If your status is
"Rejected", the I-CAN! E-file status page will tell you what to do to correct
your return. You may be able to e-file again or you may need to mail your
return. Once your status is "Accepted", your tax return will be filed with
the IRS and your state. At this point, if you are due a refund, you can click
the links on the right sidebar under "Where's my refund?" to track your
federal and/or state refund.
• YOUR TAX RETURN IS NOT FILED UNTIL YOUR E-FILE STATUS
IS "ACCEPTED".
• If your status is "pending" or "rejected" that means that you have not yet
filed your return according to the IRS. If you choose not to e-file you can
print your forms and mail them.
Forms that I-CAN! E-File can complete
Federal Forms
Form 1040
Schedule C Profit or Loss from Business (Profit only, 1099-MISC box 7 only)
Schedule R Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
Schedule SE Self-employment tax
Form 2441 Child and Dependent Care
Form 8814 Parents' Election to Report Child's Interest and Dividends (For a child under 14 who gets Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends only)
Schedule EIC Earned Income Credit: Qualifying Child Information
Form 8812 Additional Child Tax Credit
Form 8863 Education Credits
Form 8901 Information on Qualifying Children Who Are Not Dependents (For Child Tax Credit)
Form 8880 Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions
Form 6251 Alternative Minimum Tax
Schedule A&B Itemized deductions, interest and ordinary dividends
Form 8888 Direct deposit into multiple accounts
Form 1040v Payment voucher
Federal Worksheets
Pensions and Annuities Simplified Method Worksheet
Social Security Benefits Worksheet
IRA Deduction Worksheet
Student Loan Interest Worksheet
Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents
Child Tax Credit Worksheet
EIC Worksheet A or B
MI Forms and Worksheets
MI-1040 Michigan Individual Income Tax Return
MI-1040 Schedule 1 & 2
Schedule CT Michigan College Tuition and Fees Credit
Use Tax Worksheet
MI-1040CR Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit Claim
MI-1040CR-7 Michigan Home Heating Credit Claim
Schedule W
Worksheet 2 Filer eligible to be claimed as a dependent
MI-1040v Payment voucher
Some things to be aware of...
• Please make sure you have ALL of your tax
documents before you e-file. You may start entering
your information into I-CAN!™ E-file before you have
all of your documents and "Save and Exit" before you
get to the e-file confirmation screen.
• Once you e-file you cannot change your information.
Once your return is accepted, you cannot e-file again.
If you receive a new tax document after you e-file,
you will need to amend your return and you cannot
do this using I-CAN!™ E-File.
E-Filing
• Electronic filing is available to taxpayers using I-CAN! EFILE if those individuals have their own email account.
• E-filing allows returns to be processed quickly. Projections
are that these returns and credit will be deposited within 10
days.
• E-filed returns are directly deposited into credit union
accounts so E-filers must have the credit union routing
number and their personal share or draft account number.
Credits you can claim on I-CAN! E-Filed
• I-CAN! E-FILE will help you complete all necessary tax forms for your
Michigan and Federal tax returns and allow you to claim all other credits
and deductions your are eligible for including:
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Child Tax Credit;
Education Credit;
Savers Credit;
Student Loan Deductions;
Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit;
Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit;
Michigan Home Heating Credit; and
Public Radio and Television
• And the Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit
• The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program was
created in 1975 to provide a tax-based wage supplement to
low and moderate income working families. This special tax
credit helps ease the tax burden for working families and
individuals and offsets some of their living expenses.
– For the 2007 tax year Michigan taxpayers claimed over $2 million in
EITC refunds
EITC Underutilized
• Many people who are eligible for the EITC do
not know about it or how to claim it.
• Even workers whose income is too small to
pay taxes can receive a refund though the
EITC
• As many as 20-25% of eligible workers don’t
claim the EITC
Michigan EITC
• Currently 22 states have EITC programs (up from 7 in 1994)
• In September, 2006, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed
legislation creating a refundable Michigan EITC.
– Effective for tax years beginning after 2007.
– Michigan EITC – piggyback credit equal to 10% of the Federal credit in
2008 and 20% of the Federal credit after 2008.
EITC Refunds
In the 2007 tax year I-CAN! E-File returned over $33 million
dollars to low and moderate wage earners. $11 million of
which were Earned Income Tax Credit dollars.
The federal EITC will provide approximately $44.7 billion in
benefits to recipients in 2008 (2009 Budget of the U.S.).
Eligibility for EITC
• Federal
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Have Earned Income in 2008
Have a valid Social Security Number
Be a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident
Not Qualify as a Dependent for another taxpayer
Investment Income must be less than $2,950 (if applicable)
If the number of qualifying children is 0, must be 25 years or older.
• Michigan
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Must be a Michigan taxpayer
Subject to the Michigan income tax
Not necessarily a resident
Must be eligible for the federal EITC
Must have a Social Security Number
Cannot be married filing a separate return
Meet income/child criteria
Cannot be blocked from claiming the federal credit due to negligence or suspected
fraud (I.R.C. Sec. 32(k)).
888-4-EITC-4U
• On December 1, 2008 the Legal Aid Society of
Orange County will launch a nationwide tollfree number for taxpayers to call and receive
EITC eligibility guidelines and be connected
to free tax preparation resources and service
providers. 888-4-EITC-4U
Amount Taxpayers Get Back!
• For 2008 low income wage earners can receive:
• Families with one child who earn less than $33,995 in 2008 (or less than $36, 995 for
married workers) are eligible for a credit of up to $2,917;
• Families with two or more children who earn less than $38,646 in 2008 (or less than
$41,646 for married workers) are eligible for a credit of up to $4,824;
• Workers without a qualifying child who earn less than $12,880 in 2008 (or less than
$15,880 for married workers) are eligible for a credit of up to $438.
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Earned Income includes: wages, salaries and tips; net earnings from selfemployment; union strike benefits; employer – paid disability benefits; and military
combat pay.
Earned Income does not include: non-taxable earned income (payroll deductions
for dependent care or retirement plans); public benefits (Social Security); Other
taxable income such as unemployment; alimony; interest on bank accounts.
Just File It!
Credit Union Partners
• Nearly 90 Credit Unions enrolled to participate as
Just File It! Partners for the 2007 tax filing season
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Dow Chemical CU (171)
Michigan State University FCU (95)
Michigan Tech Employees FCU (102)
Members Credit Union (83)
– Website Link – provided a link to the I-CAN! E-FILE
application using the Just file it! icon
– Publicity – publicize Just file it! to your members and in
your community.
Tracking Your Outreach Efforts
• I-CAN! E-File provides real time usage
information tracked by partner.
– You must have an I-CAN! E-File partner ID number
– This is a number you add to the web link your program uses when
you direct members to use I-CAN! E-File.
– When a user completes their tax return with I-CAN! E-File, the
totals of their tax dollars are added to the totals under your credit
union/program name. You can see both the total number of users who
completed their tax return from your referrals by clicking on the
“Taxpayer Reports” link.
– You can access information about your users by typing:
https://secure.icanefile.org?caller=1 (substitute your partner ID number for
the 1)
Just file it! Website
• What’s available?
• Materials ready to download and use!
– Posters, teller tents, newsletter articles, statement stuffers all
designed to help you promote the program to members and
within the community
• A list of local VITA site partners
– This will be up-dated once we have the new sites for the 2008
tax filing season
Contact Information
Gayle Rosen – Michigan Poverty Law Program
gcrosen@comcast.net
Martha Ninichuk
Director of CU Relations, Michigan Credit Union League
(800) 262-6285, ext. 445, Martha.Ninichuk@mcul.org