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L.A. County to help homeless file taxes, collect stimulus checks

by City News Service • May 19, 2021

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to partner with homeless services providers to help homeless individuals file their taxes, hoping to meet federal and state deadlines for stimulus checks.

Supervisor Hilda Solis championed the plan, saying many homeless and formerly homeless individuals don’t have the tax documentation or proper identification they need, not to mention lacking a permanent mailing address.

“People experiencing homelessness face unique challenges resulting from a lack of stable housing, making many processes like filing taxes and collecting stimulus payments inaccessible for many,” Solis said.

The Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides free income tax preparation services to households earning less than $57,000 annually.

IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals countywide as part of this program sponsored by the IRS in partnership with the county’s Center for Financial Empowerment.

However, the number of available volunteers is too small to accommodate the county’s need. Solis recommended seeing whether homeless services providers and even county employees could be certified to help, potentially co-locating in homeless shelters, housing sites and Project Roomkey and Homekey sites.

Taking a holistic approach that wraps case management into the process could boost the chance that stimulus checks are effective in helping people get back on a path to a more stable financial situation, Solis suggested.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said some homeless people may be worried about past tax liabilities, and that the program should take this into consideration in managing outreach and education.

Filed Under: Home, Los Angeles County

1 comment for "L.A. County to help homeless file taxes, collect stimulus checks"

  1. Vic says

    May 20, 2021 at 11:34 am

    There would have been a lot fewer homeless people in Lancaster if they had used the old county facility on Ave. I to house 1400 instead of spending $33 million on a new facility that charges monthly rent and sleeps 140. No bid contract, too.

    That is what you get when you have a mayor that suggests that people carry guns illegally and shoot the homeless if they try to rob you.

    A Christian city? Hardly.

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