Montgomery County Highlights Free Tax Help and Earned Income Tax Credits as 2022 Tax Filing Season Begins

For Immediate Release: Friday, January 27, 2023

In recognition of National Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day on Jan. 27, low-to-moderate income Montgomery County residents are reminded that valuable tax credits, including the State and Federal Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credits and County’s Working Families Income Supplement, may help them and provide thousands of dollars in tax refunds. 

To help residents access these credits, the Community Action Agency’s (CAA) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Partnership hosts free tax sites throughout the community for households earning $60,000 or less. VITA sites offer in-person appointments in Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, Rockville and Wheaton. Virtual appointments also are available.  

Free tax help is available at sites hosted by AARP, CASA, the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center and the Equity Center. All VITA programs serve tax filers who already have an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The CAA and CASA programs also help taxpayers filing with new or renewal ITIN applications. 

“Recent historic expansions of the Maryland EITC and County's matching Working Families Income Supplement have resulted in larger credits helping more people, including ITIN and single filers,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “Those larger refunds are so important to our neighbors and have been a lifeline as they face rising rents and grocery prices.”  

To kick off the 2022 tax season and promote the tax credits, Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman and County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles recently joined community leaders at the Equity Center in Gaithersburg. Tracey Walker-Carter, director of Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) with the IRS, also joined with the CAA and partners at WorkSource Montgomery VITA recently to recognize the important role of VITA in helping people become more economically secure. 

Information about VITA sites, tax credits, and appointments is available on the County’s CASHBACK website or by calling 311. The Community Action Agency is the County’s federally-designated anti-poverty agency, and a program of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services.

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Release ID: 23-042
Media Contact: Mary Anderson
Categories: Tax