Client Success: VITA Danielle Jacobs
Danielle Jacobs is a happy taxpayer. She heard about the JEDI VITA free tax preparation service through a co-worker and was thankful that she could get her taxes done for free!
Her experience was bitter sweet though but ended up on a positive note. The drop off process at JEDI includes an interview with the client when they bring in their tax documents which then get scanned and returned to the taxpayer. Volunteers working remotely can access the forms when they prepare the return.
It turns out that Danielle had accidentally included a W2 from 2020 in her paperwork. (We call this “Stump the Volunteer” and it did!). The extra W2 went unnoticed and got included in her wages for 2021. She picked up her return and was very disheartened because she was not getting the refund she was expecting. Luckily, Shirley Flatt, one of our veteran volunteers looked over her return again and discovered the error. She removed the 2020 W2 and this increased Danielle’s refund significantly. The EITC works on a bell curve, the refund goes up as the income goes up to the top of the curve and then goes down as the income continues to increase. Danielle’s income had gone up too high with the extra W2 and the refund had gone down.
After she received a call from Shirley who explained the correction, she was eternally grateful. “I really appreciate how timely and overwhelmingly helpful the volunteers were,” said Danielle. “The service was great and the volunteers were so kind.”
In 2021, Danielle worked two jobs and has worked multiple jobs for many years. Patching together her income has been a struggle. She has been a Teacher’s Assistant for the last 5 years and coaches the Volleyball and Track teams.
As the single mother of 4, Danielle can certainly use the funds she received from the earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the CalEIC. Every nickel of her refund is now in a savings account until she can gather enough for a down payment on a car. Her Van is on its last legs and a newer car will stabilize her transportation needs.
The credits from the tax return will help lift her family out of the low income bracket until she can secure a position in the future that will provide retirement benefits and a living wage, a goal that she is avidly pursuing. She hopes the position will allow her to continue working with kids which she does so well.
