EITC Pooled Fund Awardees Expand State EITCs in NM and WA

Washington state lawmakers passed legislation to fully fund the Working Families Tax Credit, or Recovery Rebate – worth 10% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – with bipartisan support. The annual cash rebate worth up to $1,200 will reach 420,000 households across the state. With the passage of House Bill 1297, Washington state also becomes the fifth state in the nation to include eligibility for Individual Tax Identification (ITIN) filers. This achievement is the culmination of thirteen years of advocacy focused on ensuring people have direct, flexible cash to meet their essential needs. And it’s a critical move toward addressing Washington state’s upside-down tax code. It’s an instructive example of how an EITC can work in a state without an income tax and will benefit more than 400,000 households. Learn more here.

New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill significantly expanding the state’s Working Family Tax Credit. The legislation expands eligibility for the credit to taxpayers over 18 and who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), and beginning in 2023 the credit will be worth 25% of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Learn more here.

Both New Mexico and Washington were awarded funds from the state EITC Campaign Fund to expand their state EITCs.

Economic Opportunity Funders and the EITC Funders Network administer and oversee the State EITC Rapid Response, Campaign and Policy Development Fund and the Federal EITC Campaign Fund to advance tax fairness and economic opportunity for low-income workers and families through the promotion, protection and expansion of the federal and state EITCs. The four funds – together known as the EITC Pooled Fund – are guided by an advisory group, supported by five national funders and administered by EOF and the EITC Funders Network in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and The Hatcher Group.