Joined by Statewide Partners, CalEITC4Me Bus Tour Rolls Through California to Deliver FREE Tax Prep to Communities Where Eligible Families Live and Work

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to remove barriers to claiming the new State Earned Income Tax Credit, CalEITC4Me is partnering with the California Franchise Tax Board and a host of statewide partners to raise awareness about CalEITC and provide free tax preparation for low income working Californians.

"Our goal is to reach all eligible families throughout the state - in urban, suburban and rural communities. The CalEITC4Me Bus Tour delivers free tax preparation and resources to communities that are sometimes passed by," said Joseph N. Sanberg, CalEITC4Me Chair. "Working together with hundreds of community organizations, statewide partners, state and local leadership, media partners and volunteers, we are helping working families claim the tax refunds they've earned."

In the two weeks leading up to this year's April 18 tax filing deadline, the CalEITC4Me bus, equipped as a mobile tax preparation center with laptop computers and Wi-Fi, and staffed with volunteer tax preparers will make day-long stops in communities from San Bernardino to Stanislaus County including Perris/Riverside County, Garden Grove/Orange County, North Hollywood/Los Angeles County, Bakersfield/Kern County, and Modesto/Stanislaus County.

Volunteer tax professionals will be on hand to prepare and electronically file Federal and State taxes and provide screenings to determine eligibility for Federal and State EITC. Eligible families can receive cash back of $900 on average, up to more than $6,500.

CalEITC4Me Bus Tour partners include the California Franchise Tax Board, The Community College Foundation, media partners including La Opinion, Univision, Telemundo, Radio Billingue, New American Media, and BPC Media Works, and community and grassroots partners throughout the state.

Families that made $54,000 or less in 2015 can schedule a free tax preparation appointment by calling numbers listed below or by visiting CalEITC4Me.org.

CalEITC4Me Bus Tour Schedule and EITC Eligibility Snapshots:

Sunday, April 3: Riverside County- Perris
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Boys and Girls Club of Perris 
For appointments call (916) 206-9588
CalEITC eligible: 40,000
Federal EITC eligible: 204,900

Friday, April 8: Orange County- Garden Grove
3:00 – 8:00 pm
Garden Grove Car Show 
Downtown Garden Grove, CA
For appointments call (888) 434-8248
CalEITC eligible: 40,000
Federal EITC eligible: 200,000

Saturday, April 9: Los Angeles County- San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Hollywood FamilySource Center
1075 N. Western Ave., Suite 110
Los Angeles, CA 90029
For appointments call (323) 836-0055
CalEITC eligible: 35,000
Federal EITC eligible: 168,000

Sunday, April 10: Kern County- Bakersfield
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
United Way of Kern County
5405 Stockdale Hwy # 200
Bakersfield, CA 93309
For appointments call 661-834-1820
CalEITC eligible: 20,000
Federal EITC eligible: 86,000

Saturday, April 16: Stanislaus County- Modesto
10:00am - 2:00pm
Family Safety Fair
12^th and I Streets
Modesto, CA 95354
CalEITC eligible: 12,000
Federal EITC eligible: 50,000

ABOUT CalEITC4Me.org

CalEITC4Me is a public-private partnership to spread awareness of the first-ever state Earned Income Tax Credit and put more money into the hands of hard-working Californians. CalEITC4ME is a one-stop, multilingual online hub of information and interactive resources. Innovative online tools have been developed to include the CalEITC4Me Calculator, a user-friendly tool, created for California by the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation, where individuals can determine their new state and federal EITC eligibility and potential refund in a few easy steps; the Free Tax Prep Finder which connects families to local free tax preparation services; and the interactive CalEITC4Me Heat Map that allows nonprofits, government agencies and others to identify key regions of eligible filers by ZIP code and other searchable criteria. To learn more about CalEITC4Me, click here. To learn more about Golden State Opportunity, click here. Follow the event on social media at Twitter handle @CalEITC4Me and Facebook.com/CalEITC4Me.

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SOURCE CalEITC4Me