Tax Season by the numbers

Yesterday was our biggest day yet here at the Ohio Benefit Bank Direct Service Office and across the entire state! In one day, OBB sites and ohiobenefits.org served 1,477 people.

From January 1st through 11:30 am today (February 11th), we have served over 12,644 clients in completing 19,318 different applications!

The hotline has also answered 4,351 phone calls!

A huge kudos to our hotline workers who field calls from all over Ohio and then tell clients which of your sites they can visit to get help, and of course a huge kudos to all of you for all the work you do with The Benefit Bank!  Remember, if you ever get overwhelmed by clients, let a Central Ohio team member (Zach, Sarah or Heather) know so we can either take you off our referral list, or permanently remove you from being a public site.

Advertising: Did you know?

Did you know? The Ohio Benefit Bank tax assistance service has a commercial!



This commercial is for benefits, but I had to include it in this post, considering yours truly may make a cameo:

Boosting Individuals and the Economy

Yesterday I (Sarah) attended one of the Tax Clinics at a Job and Family Services Opportunity Center organized by my fantastic colleagues Heather and Emily.  Staying in the spirit with our photo contest (reminders, links and instructions at the end of this post), I captured a couple of the happy clients I assisted yesterday!

• Don't forget to enter the OBB Statewide Photo Contest 2011! If you need to review the rules click here. If you would like to enter a photo, fill out the photo release and submit both to Joree Jacobs at jjacobs@oashf.org. Prizes will be given for 1st 2nd and 3rd place photos!

School District Taxes

From Sarah, a Community Trainer:  I will be the first to admit taxes are intimidating.  Many of you who attended my trainings have heard me say that I just graduated with a Communications and Media degree, nothing to do with taxes, math, government, policy, etc.  Using The Benefit Bank tool empowered me to be successful at something I wouldn't have touched with a 39 and a half foot pole a couple months ago, but there are still a couple of confusing parts.  I have noticed that many fellow counselors start sweating when you get to school district taxes.  Can I show you a summary of a school district situation I encountered yesterday?  This client moved within the year, didn't work in the same town she lived in, and had a mailing address in an altogether different district:

(Click on the image to view a larger version in your browser)

It took a while to confirm the information, but The Benefit Bank did an awesome job giving follow-up instructions, breaking down where she paid, where she overpaid, where she didn't have to pay, and how to file the additional SD taxes (as we could only submit one of the districts with our e-file).

To help ease nerves and continue to make you more expert counselors, I want to make sure everyone saw this important section on SD taxes in our last OBB blast email:

• Finally, some clarifying information about school district tax:

1.     Not all W-2s identify school district tax the same way. In most cases you will look for "SD" or "School District" in the locality field of the W-2 (under the Ohio tax section).

2.     Be aware that some school disticts may have the same name as a city. In this case, make sure that the item you are looking at is not a city tax.

3.     Click here for a list of school districts, highlighted in red are districts which require residents to file school district taxes. To find out which school district you live in click here and enter your address.

Tax Clinics Around the Region

This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending four tax clinics in four different counties throughout the Central Ohio region. As the day's schedule started to come together I knew that I was in for a treat.

Our Tri-County Counselors

The first clinic I attended was at the Champaign County office of Tri-County Community Action. This agency has been preparing tax returns with the OBB for three years and they were opening their offices on a Saturday to accomodate some additional appointments. Stepheni showed me around and a couple of the counselors pulled me in for questions. One client had forms related Health Savings Account contributions and distributions; it was good to work through these forms knowing that last year we would have needed to refer this indivudal on! One practice that I saw repeated at other clinics I visited throughout the day was a couple of computers set up for those who felt comfortable using the OBB Self Serve. Next I went up to the Logan County office of Tri-County Community Action where they were running a clinic that was equally busy. I didn't stay long though, it was clear these counselors knew what they were doing!

The long stretch of my drive was from Logan County to Pickaway County where I attended the Super Saturday event put on by the Pickaway County Community Action or PICCA. PICCA has been one of the top producing OBB tax sites for several years running. They have a very active pool of volunteer OBB counselors who are also certified VITA volunteers. VITA, or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, is a program through the IRS that trains volunteers to prepare returns for low-income filers. A few minor snags resulted in some of the appointments running behind. However, the smiling faces, laughter, and infectious energy in the room would have lead you to believe that you were at Circleville's famous Pumpkin Show, certainly not a tax preparation event! At this event the Site Administrator, Teresa, had invited The Savings Bank to advertise their new debit card product designed for people who are un-banked or under-banked. This program provides an opportuntiy for people without bank accounts to take advantage of the speed and convenience offered by Direct Deposit.

The last tax clinic I visited was hosted at The Well at Sunnyside. This OBB site is located in an old elementary school building in Washington Court House. I was struck by the relevance of the saying engraved above the school's main entrance, "Knowledge adorns riches and softens poverty." So, naturally, I snapped a quick cell phone pic...

Much like the three clinics I visited previously, the energy in this room was spirited, but by this time in the afternoon I could tell that counselors and clients were ready to move on to their next weekend activity. I volunteered to help out by working with a couple of clients. I was soon set up in the old prinicpal's office (it is strange what kind of mempory's a principal's office will conjure!). I helped a gentleman who had been laid off a couple of years earlier from a local auto parts manufacturer. His employment outlook wasn't great but he maintained good spirits throughout the appointment, even when he learned that he would owe some money to the State. My next client was a first time tax filer who came in with his mother. I love working with first time filers because the OBB gives such valuable information about taxes and tax filing. The client had to leave because he had forgotten some savings forms, but he scheduled an appointment with a regular counselor at The Well, I am sure he will be back.

It is always such an incredible opportunity for me to get out and see the good work that our OBB sites do in their communities. The enthusiasm of counselors is infectious. The best practices that I pick up and the feedback I get from all involved informs my work as a Regional Coordinator. Please consider calling Heather, Sarah, or myself and inviting us to your next tax clinic or other OBB related event. We won't be able to make it everytime, but we will make an effort to take part whenever possible. Thanks for the great work that you do at your clinics and every other day of the year, keep it up... And, as always, never hesitate to be in touch!