Carpe Diem Part 2

Recently we talked about how this is the perfect time for taxpayers to do some spring cleaning. This is also the perfect time for tax counselors to brush up on their knowledge! Having problems with 1099-DIV forms? Not sure what a land lease is, or how it will affect the clients you are serving? This is the perfect time to find out the answers to some of those questions. Here are a few quick ways you can get your regular dose of tax tips:

Continue your education! Gayle Loyola, Asset Development Coordinator for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, home of The Ohio Benefit Bank(OBB™)  runs a fantastic webinar series for enhancing OBB counselors on the third Wednesday of every month from 12-1 PM. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge of the many tax forms available.

Brush up with The Ohio Benefit Bank Tax Clinic Guide, and the other fantastic resources for planning a tax clinic that can be found in The Ohio Benefit Bank™ Tax Clinic Kit.

Mark your calendar for the sixth annual Ohio Benefit Bank Community Meeting and Training on September 17, 2013 in Columbus, where you can attend tax related seminars, see fantastic speakers, learn some new ways to connect to your clients, and much more! 

Stay connected to the OBB online: “Like” our Facebook page for updates and tips you can share, and, as always, keep reading our posts for more behind-the-scenes perspective on being an OBB counselor. You can follow our blog or add us (http://www.obbmobileexpress.blogspot.com/) to your RSS feed to get our most posts delivered to you.

Carpe Diem!

Now that tax season is behind us, there is no better time to do some spring cleaning and make sure you  will have everything you’ll need for next year. Taxes can be confusing, and indeed intimidating to many people, and it is understandable to want to forget the whole process. Don’t! Not paying attention can have the unfortunate result of leaving you vulnerable to mistakes being made on their tax forms. 

 For example, it is not uncommon for a household to owe money to the IRS because of a mistake or outdated information about how much income should be withheld from a paycheck for federal income taxes. There is no better time than right now to get a more complete understanding of how  various types of income are taxed, and how that will affect your return in the future. 

Here are a few “spring cleaning” steps you can take to make filing next year’s taxes as stress-free as possible:

-         Check to see if your W-4 filed with your employer needs to be updated. If you owed money at tax time, or had a life change such as a marriage, divorce, new family member, or employment change, you will likely want to adjust your withholding. Employers and human resource departments are great resources for learning about your W-4. It’s a good idea to make a habit of checking this every year.  

-         Contact your bank, employer, or the distribution source of any retirement or pension plans to shed some light on the sometimes murky details surrounding your IRA and 401Ks so that you don’t have any surprises waiting for you when you file your 1099-Rs next year and to ensure that you are not being taxed at a higher rate than you should be. 

-         Keep your tax information somewhere safe for next year!  By bringing your previous year’s tax information (along with your login name and password) into your appointment you will ensure accuracy on your taxes and make your tax appointment go faster.

So seize the day, and take this opportunity to spot any issues before they become a problem!

Thank you Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency!

Over the course of the 2012 tax season it has been our great pleasure to work on several occasions with the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency. 

In addition to offering free tax clinics, the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency provides its community with a phenomenal adult literacy and GED program, offers access to weatherization services through HWAP, maintains a food pantry and recycling center, and helps people apply for a number of other social service programs.

Tonya Dobbins, and all of the staff, have done their very best to ensure that our visits to their site were extremely successful. We appreciate all of their hard work, especially since it enabled the Mobile Express to help more than 50 individual clients file over 100 tax applications over several visits to the agency.

If you are in Fairfield County, and are interested in becoming involved with the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency, feel free to give them a call at (740) 653-4146 or complete this volunteer application  to explore the many ways you can make a difference in your community!

Pictured: The Lancaster – Fairfield Community Action Agency building in Lancaster, from the organization’s website, http://www.faircaa.org/. 

Serving Together in Cincinnati’s Northside

Churches Active In Northside (CAIN) is a one-stop-shop for individuals looking to receive assistance in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood.  Formally founded in 1991, CAIN is supported by thirteen church ministries who, as explained to me, joined together to maximize their impact and minimize the need for clients to visit pantries as often.  CAIN offers everything from food and household products to help with birthday gifts for children and all the while remains an active OBB site, helping to connect pantry visitors with Food Assistance to supplement their food budget in the long term. 

Image: from CAIN website, www.cainministry.org

Here are three things CAIN is doing to ensure success:

They cater their hours of operation to their clients.  At CAIN, a parent can get off work at a normal time, go home and fix dinner, and still have time to visit the pantry before it closes at 8:30 pm.They use their OBB services to propel other aspects of their organization and vice-versa.  In fact, it seems like each time someone walks out of their door you can hear a staff member or volunteer encouraging clients to tell their friends and family that they can find help at CAIN.They nurture existing partnerships and relationships.  One of the times we visited CAIN this tax season we met a volunteer who had moved from Cincinnati to West Virginia. Every time she comes back to visit, she spends some time volunteering with her friends at CAIN!

Creative Marketing

Pictured above: Organizers of the Churches Active in Northside (CAIN) tax clinic pasted signs to The Ohio Benefit Bank™ Mobile Express to direct clients to the appropriate entrance.

Marketing your Ohio Benefit Bank events doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to work! For example, printed signs like the one shown above can work great as long as they are placed in effective locations.  

Recently, we attended a food distribution in Wooster that had a phenomenal turn-out. It turns out that the folks at the Wooster Hope Center reached out to many new clients by using Facebook and Twitter! Approximately twenty percent of the first-time attendees we spoke to said they heard about the event through social media, which really goes to show the impact social media can have when trying to reach out to new groups of people!  

What kind of marketing is most effective for you? If you have any creative ideas that work for your organization, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment to share them here, or email us at: dhansen@ohiofoodbanks.org.

 

5 Tips for a Great Tax Clinic

Planning a tax clinic?  Here are a few tips that may help ensure a successful event!

1. Secure a location!

It may sound obvious, but make sure that you have a physical location for your clinic, and maintain an open line of communication with your chosen site to help avoid mistakes in scheduling or double booking of any rooms you might need. If possible ensure that your counselors have a low traffic or private area to work with clients. If that’s not possible get creative! One site used tri-fold poster boards to screen clients and counselors at each work station, making sessions feel more private..

2. Advertise!

Once you have the location, date, and time of your clinic, get the word out there! This season, many of the most successful clinics that the Mobile Express has attended have used a combination of advertising strategies including radio advertisements, word of mouth, newspaper ads, and flyers. In particular, we have noted that events (especially those in smaller or rural towns) that have advertised in a local newspaper have experienced a notable increase in appointments. Templates for all of these are available in The Ohio Benefit Bank Tax Clinic Kit.

3. Schedule!

Knowing your capacity and the capabilities of your staff is critical to having a successful event. Some of our most successful tax clinics have developed strategies that allow them to maintain a steady workflow and also accommodate any unexpected walk-ins. On average, expect an hour to an hour and a half for each appointment. Having an extra counselor on hand to help out with any walk-ins or overflow can really help take your clinic to the next level.

4. Register!

During your tax clinic, have your clients sign in in a separate area with a registration table to help organize a steady pace for your counselors. We have seen sites that = print copies of The Ohio Benefit Bank™ Terms and Conditions and review it with  incoming clients during registration.  Some sites have taken this one step further by creating new client profiles as a client waits for their appointment. When a tax counselor is ready, the client can move directly to the tax application process. This is also a great opportunity to screen clients for benefits with Quick Check! 

5. Report!

Recently, we have noticed that some of our tax clinic sites request that clients fill out a brief exit survey with questions about how they found out about the event, how their experience was, and other relevant feedback. This has really helped some sites plan future events, and can be a great asset towards making improvements in the process!

Got more questions?  Check out The Ohio Benefit Bank Tax Clinic Kit for great tips on planning and organizing your next tax clinic!

Just a Few Clicks Away

Earlier this tax season, Tyler and I attended a busy and well-organized tax clinic hosted by Lancaster Fairfield Community Action. As appointments came and went our team made a conscious effort to keep the benefits side of The Ohio Benefit Bank™ in mind. Each client was met with a short explanation of the many uses of The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB™) in addition to taxes.

Why were we thinking about benefits at a tax clinic? Because many OBB tax clients are also eligible for one or more of the work support programs. But that doesn’t mean they are taking advantage of those programs. If we can let OBB tax clients know the other uses of the online service maybe we can help to de-stigmatize the work support programs. By introducing the many uses of the OBB you’re encouraging your clients to think about their needs throughout the tax appointment. After inputting all of the information necessary to complete their tax return, their work support application is just a few clicks away.

Our clients could potentially walk away from a tax appointment with a refund on the way and reduced stress towards meeting their most basic needs. 

Tools for Taxes: Tax Clinic Kit

Tax season is in full swing and The Ohio Benefit Bank™ network is hard at work assisting thousands of Ohioans all around the state and we, at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, are here to help.  As we have in the past, we’ve put together a collection of tools to help with planning, marketing, and executing Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB™) tax clinics.  However, these tools will also help with day-to-day tax assistance operations.

Inside the kit you will find a sample appointment sheet, a guide for using Google Spreadsheets, a press release template, helpful contacts, and a tax counselor quick reference guide to name a few.  Simply click this link to access the kit or navigate to ohiobenefits.org and click counselor resources.

Season Opener at the Work Station

E-filing is officially open, and tax season is officially underway! The Mobile Express celebrated the opening of the e-file portals by heading over to a tax clinic at The Work Station in The Plains in Athens County.  

Thanks to John Tyma and the staff at The Work Station, we had a fantastic clinic and were able to help 19 separate households file their state and federal income taxes. Our first submissions were a part of the flood of applications that hit the IRS portal upon its initial opening at 9:30 am.

The Work Station is a great community resource for people living in the Athens County area, offering free resume building, computer literacy classes, employment training and much more.  Additionally, The Work Station has a special focus on veterans, a connection that was reflected in John’s fantastic outreach efforts to veterans within the local community. It was thanks to these efforts that we had such a great turnout, and we can’t wait to return for another tax clinic in the near future!  

A Learning Experience

As mobile enrollment specialists on the Mobile Express, Daniel and I, like many of you, are currently making our way through the hurricane that is the 2013 tax filing season. As such, we get to work with a fantastic number of clients, some of whom have particularly intriguing situations in regards to their tax status.

Just today I worked with a young woman whose situation impressed upon me just how important it is for individuals to understand the tax forms their employers provide them with upon hiring. In this case, the young woman in question had recently begun working for an employer who had furnished her with a 1099-MISC instead of a standard W-2. This was the first time that she had filed such a form, so using The Benefit Bank was a great opportunity for her to learn about some of the major differences between the two forms.

In particular, she was surprised to find that she could make estimated tax payments throughout the year to avoid owing taxes at the end. She was also really interested that The Benefit Bank allows her to claim up to $5000 of business expenses incurred in the process of doing her job as deductions when filing a 1099-MISC. All in all, it seemed that working with The Benefit Bank was an extremely educational and empowering opportunity for this young woman, who felt that she came away from the experience knowing more about her tax documents than she ever had before! 

The Tax Season Cometh

Winter’s chill is in the air, which can only mean one thing…. Tax Season is right around the corner!  The Ohio Benefit Bank™ Mobile Express is already gearing up and scheduling dates for the 2013 tax season, and we want to come to your clinic! The Mobile Express can help your site assist a greater number of Ohioans, and is especially interested in working with seniors, veterans, and people living with disabilities.  Requesting the Mobile Express is as easy as filling out our Request for Participation form, but don’t delay as dates are filling up quick!

                         

You’ve probably heard by now that the IRS has moved back the date at which they are accepting tax returns to January 30^th. Don’t forget that OBB counselors can still pre-file taxes as early as January 25^th by following these guidelines.

Stay tuned during tax season to the Mobile Express blog for great tax tips, stories about the people we meet, and ideas for better connecting to your local populations. 

Tax Season Cometh

February is my favorite month. I celebrate my birthday in February. The Super Bowl is on the first Sunday of the month. I love the cold, the snow, the brighter mornings, and the early nights.

And February means tax season!

Benefits are great, obviously. But,taxes! You know what makes an event better? Telling someone they can expect a $7,000 check in the mail. People love that. Good vibes. And tax season is upon us! E-file opened this week. Tax clinics are on the horizon.

And speaking of tax clinics, on the right hand side of this blog, you'll notice a new feature. It's a very basic calendar that lets you know where we'll be. Events are confirmed, but dates may be added or times, places, etc. may change. It's a good barometer of how busy we're going to be. And we are going to be mighty busy!

If you're planning a tax or benefits clinic, you may want to take a look at the calendar and see if we're available. Or, if you want to take a look at the calendar just to see how many miles we're about to put on the Mobile, that works too.

Hope to see you on the road!

So. Many. Taxes.

I'm writing this from a hotel room in Van Wert, Ohio. This follows overnight trips in Montpelier and Oberlin. I am collecting an impressive array of tea and conditioner.

Since it's been so long since we've last talked, I thought I'd turn this into a grab bag of van fun.

1. So far my favorite travel story happened in the aforementioned Montpelier in Williams County. The county borders both Indiana and Michigan so it's quite the haul. I stayed there once last year. The hotel is haunted. It's basically The Overlook. Dimly lit, lots of corners, patterned carpet, and a weird empty conference area in the middle. I've been telling everyone about how much it's like The Overlook. I was weirdly excited about it. So when we check in, guess what room I get? HINT. If I ran into a set of twins I would have gone into shock.

2. Erin and I are proud to report that every single event we've been to has been successful. No duds here. I mean, if there were duds I probably wouldn't write about them, but you can take my word on this. Every event has been a hit.

3. I'll admit I'm personally disappointed that I haven't had any gigantic tax returns this tax season. The best part of taxes is telling someone in your best game show host voice that they're getting a return of $8,000. I can't pretend I'm Bob Barker if the return is less than a thousand bucks.

4. Erin and I also want to thank Emily Forsee. Ms. Forsee is an Americorps volunteer who works out of our home base in Columbus. Emily has organized over a dozen clinics across Columbus to help people file their taxes. That on it's own deserves kudos. But an added benefit for the Mobile Team is that going to these events keeps us in Columbus. I can't imagine how roadworn and weary we'd be if it weren't for the occasional clinic in our home county. Staying in Columbus every now and again keeps fresh for these trips to Van Wert.

So that tackles the past two weeks or so. The calendar is still chock full all the way into late-March. Anyone have any good vacation destinations for April 16th?

Chris Says Don't Sit on your Taxes!

Meet Chris. He volunteers with the Lorain County EITC Coalition--greeting people and shepherding them to get their taxes done through the Ohio Benefit Bank. Below he tells the story of how he has procrastinated and is encouraging others to come and get their taxes done. Check it out:

The Final Push

Your taxes are due this Thursday. If you think you're getting a refund, what are you waiting for? If you think you're going to owe, then at least you don't have to pay extra when you use the 100% free Ohio Benefit Bank software. There's no need to pay money just to find out you have to pay more money.

Over here at the Direct Service Office in Columbus, we're making our last big push for tax season. We're extending our hours and working the night shift to make sure Ohioans get their taxes done. I imagine the majority of people reading this site are OBB counselors, so consider this a call to arms. If you know or meet someone who hasn't done their taxes, get 'em done.

Waiting on Those 1099s

So, tax season. Hurray! I really like doing applications where it looks like a client could be getting a $5000 check in the mail in two weeks. I think it combines my desire to help people with my desire to someday be a game show host.

Alas, Ohio has a severe unemployment problem. And unemployment compensation is taxable. The state doesn't have to provide those 1099 record of unemployment compensation until February 1, so a lot of people are just... waiting. I've had to turn away a few clients who had all of their relevant information except for their 1099s. I hate doing that, but everyone's hands are tied. The Mobile Express has been stuck in park since many of my scheduled events in economically depressed areas have been canceled. The people there just don't have their documents yet.

But we persevere. Our Direct Service Office is the busiest I've ever seen it and people are getting their refunds at a feverish pace. But I still stare at February 1 on my calendar waiting for the chance to help every person who comes into our office or into our van. I can't wait.