VITA Sites and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

First Nations Development Institute provides information about Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Sites and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in Native communities.


		Tax Time Savings for Native Communities: Ten Best Practices for Effective Native VITA Programs (2013) (4.1 MB) Most rural Native VITA sites, unlike urban VITA sites, face a unique set of challenges. The geographic isolation, low volunteer retention rates, economically distressed communities, and overall distrust of the federal government among many Native Americans can limit the success of traditional VITA site models (i.e., models developed by the IRS). In this report, we propose some best practices designed to address these unique challenges by developing culturally-relevant strategies, structures, and activities for launching and expanding successful VITA sites in Native communities.

		Borrowed Time: Use of Refund Anticipation Loans Among EITC Filers in Native Communities (2009) (1.6 MB) The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which supplements the earnings of low-to-moderate income working families, returns over $44 billion each year to these households and their communities and lifts approximately five million people above the poverty line. Unfortunately, paid tax preparers have weakened the economic impact of the EITC by over $600 million a year by offering Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) that give EITC recipients quicker access to their refunds in return for high fees of 50-500 percent APR. Households in communities of color are disproportionately impacted by high-cost RAL products. This report provides data on the use of RALs in Native communities.

		*Integrated Assest Building Strategies for Reservation-Based Communities: A 27 Year Retrospective of First Nations Development Institute - Chapter 2: Financial Management Skills in Native Communities (2007)* (3.25) The Financial Education chapter of Integrated Assest Building Strategies for Reservation-Based Communities: A 27 Year Retrospective of First Nations Development Institute** begins with two introductory sections that demonstrate the importance of both developing financial management skills and increasing research related to the potential effects of increasing financial education opportunities in Native communities. The chapter is then broken into three sections focused on topics seen as essential for developing greater financial management and investment skills in Native communities.

		*Building Native Communities: A Tribal Leader's Guide to Launching an EITC Campaign (2005)* (2.5 MB) This publication provides guidance to tribal leaders and community organizers who want to improve awareness about the Earned Income Tax Credit and expand affordable access to tax preparation services in Native communities.

		Contributions of the Earned Income Tax Credit to Community Development in Indian Country (2005) (203 KB) This research study, supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and First Nations Development Institute was conducted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. This paper explores the impact and potential uses of EITC and other tax refunds in Native communities.

		Building Native Communities: A Guide to Claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Consumer Workbook (2004) (800 KB) The purpose of this curriculum is to enable Native community members to expand their financial skills to access the Earned Income Tax Credit in a cost effective way to help improve the financial standing of themselves, their family, and their community.

Our Publications

VITA Sites and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)