HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Using federal coronavirus relief funds, the State Department of Revenue Services is retroactively enhancing the 2020 Connecticut Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by nearly 19%.
Under Governor Ned Lamont's direction, the department will be boosting the 2020 State EITC from 23% to 41.5% of the federal credit.
According to United Way of Connecticut President and CEO Lisa Tepper Bates, this additional state tax refund will bring great relief to around 200,000 Connecticut households.
The enhancement will benefit households that earned up to $56,844 in 2020 and filed for that year's EITC, state officials explained, but the amount of enhanced credit depends on a household's particular finances.
An average eligible Connecticut family would get an additional EITC in the amount of $925 from the state, Bates said.
"That's a month of rent. That's two months of utility bills. That's two months of daycare for a toddler. That's a critically needed repair to a car that provides transportation to work," Bates said.
The EITC boost will also serve as a stimulus for the local economy while putting Connecticut in line with other high cost-of-living states in the northeast, she said.
The final portion of the state's $1.38 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund will be used to cover the $75 million cost of the enhanced credit, state officials said.
“Enhancing the 2020 Connecticut Earned Income Tax Credit provides direct relief to workers doing their best to provide for their families while confronting pandemic-related costs from masks and tests to childcare and internet access,” Lamont said.