Factors Contributing to Tax Refund/Payments of Inner City Baltimore Residents

• In Event: Taxation

Abstract

This study examined the tax refund/ payment of clients of Coppin State University VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) for the 2015 to 2016 tax season. Coppin State VITA has provided free tax preparation services to low income earners for several years. The clients of Coppin State Vita were residents of the inner Baltimore City and the surrounding areas who used the Coppin State Vita Services for tax preparation purposes for the 2015 to 2016 period. The study analyzed if refunds/payments were dependent on certain factors such as the return type, exemptions, area of residence (zip code), income and age of the client.
The VITA program was mutually beneficial to the university and the community. It was found that the refund was positively and highly dependent on the number of IRS exemptions that the client was allowed and also the health insurance coverage. The age of the client negatively affected the refund obtained. The income and area of residence did not affect the amount of refunds.

Authors

• Loretta Baryeh, Coppin State

• Hyacinth Ezeka, Coppin State