What does this measure?

The proportion of people filing taxes who receive the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Why is this important?

The tax credit helps low-income individuals and families by reducing the taxes they pay or in some cases providing refunds. When the credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed, qualified filers receive a federal refund. The number of filers receiving the credit is one measure of the number of working poor people in a region, though not everyone who would qualify for the credit claims it.

How is the Greater Capital Region performing?

In 2005, about 12% of tax filers in the Greater Capital Region received the Earned Income Tax Credit, lower than the state rate of about 17%. The region's rate has consistently been 4 to 5 percentage points lower each year than the state rate. According to the Brookings Institution, between 16% and 17% of tax filers nationally have claimed the credit in recent years. The rate in the Greater Capital Region decreased slightly from 1997 to 2000, but increased 1.5 percentage points from 2001 to 05. Schoharie County had the highest rate of filers claiming the credit at 14.9% in 2005, and Saratoga County had the lowest at 9.4%.

Notes about the data

National data were not available. People must claim the credit to receive it; therefore, these numbers do not reflect the number of people eligible for the credit. The IRS and other experts estimate that between 80 and 85 percent of those who are eligible for the credit claim it.