Employer Survey Executive Summary Report            Study conducted by the UNH Cooperative Extension Family Resource Management Program           

    Findings

    EITC/AEITC:

    Free Tax Preparation Sites:

    Conclusions

    Recommendations

Prepared by: 

Mary Anne Wichroski, PhD

Program Evaluation Services                                               

July, 2006

As part of on-going research conducted by the UNH Cooperative Extension on the low participation in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Advance Earned Income Tax Credit (AEITC) in New Hampshire, a survey of New Hampshire employers was conducted in the Spring of 2006 to determine how the Cooperative Extension could work more closely with businesses to increase EITC/AEITC participation among eligible New Hampshire residents. The following findings are based on survey responses from 56 employers throughout the state, employing 21,487 workers.   

Findings

EITC/AEITC:

• 39% of employees earned less than $35,000 per year and 5% received AEITC in their paychecks. 
• Sixteen percent (16%) of employers provide EITC information to their employees.  Of those who do not, 85% were interested in receiving information to distribute to their employees. 
• Thirteen percent (13%) of employers provided AEITC information.  Of those who do not, 92% said they would like to receive and distribute information. 
• Eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents said they would be willing to insert an EITC/AEITC flyer in employee paychecks.  

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Free Tax Preparation Sites:

• Half (52%) of the employers said they would be willing to host a free tax preparation site at their business for employees.  Of those who responded no, over ¾ (78%) said they would be willing to post information about free tax preparation sites in their communities or place of business. 
• 82% of those responding said that they would be willing to insert information on free IRS certified tax preparation sites with W-2s.
• Most employers (63%) would not be willing to give an EITC eligible employee time during the work day to get their taxes prepared at a free tax preparation site.  Of those who said yes, about 30% would allow an employee paid time for this.
• Close to half (46%) of respondents said that they would like to receive information on how their business could become a free IRS certified tax preparation site as a benefit to their employees.

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Conclusions

Overall, this study corroborates the low participation in AEITC, the need for tax credit information for employees, the willingness of businesses to receive and distribute such information, and in some cases, to help in providing tax preparation assistance, although not during paid work time.  The workplace appears to be a viable conduit for reaching EITC/AEITC eligibles. 

 

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Recommendations

• Send EITC/AEITC information to employers who requested it.
• Send free tax preparation site information to willing employers late in the year to be sent with W-2s.
• Follow up with employers interested in hosting free tax preparation sites and provide information on this to those who agreed to post it.
• Follow up with employers who indicated interest in information on how to become a free IRS certified tax preparation site.
• Re-survey employers in future for feedback on employee response to tax preparation assistance and/or to determine whether participation in AEITC among their employees has increased.  
• Survey private human resource firms to find out if they provide tax credit information.

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