By John Kiesewetter
Enquirer staff writer

HAMILTON - After helping 40 low-income Middletown residents get a bigger federal income tax refund last spring, Wanda Glover beams about the free program that expands countywide next year.

"I'm loving seeing this take off," said Glover, one of five volunteers who did income tax preparations at the Second Ward Middletown Community Council office with IRS help.

An IRS representative met Tuesday with Butler County social service groups to form a coalition to promote the federal earned income tax credit among the county's working poor.

An estimated 3,593 eligible Butler County families did not claim credits totaling $2.28 million last year, said Lucinda Sander, an IRS tax specialist based in Cincinnati.

But nearly 16,500 county residents did, receiving more than $26 million in tax credits, she said. The federal earned income tax credit program is the federal government's largest anti-poverty program, she said.

"It's a substantial benefit to those who are eligible," said Butler County Commissioner Michael A. Fox, who will be coalition chairman.

Sander said the IRS has formed similar efforts with social service organizations - which have contact with low-income families - in Cincinnati and other large metropolitan areas.

A coalition also is being formed for Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Northern Kentucky, she said.

To qualify for the credit, a parent with one child must have an adjusted gross income under $29,666, according to the IRS. A taxpayer with no qualifying children cannot have a adjusted gross income over $11,230.

Most of those qualified who don't get the credit are people who work sporadically and don't file federal income taxes, Sander said.

"What they don't realize is that there could be thousands of dollars out there they could be getting," said Regina Campbell of the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, one of the coalition's steering committee members. Also participating are the Butler County WorkPlace, Butler County and Greater Cincinnati United Ways, and the Butler County 211 information and referral service.

Before tax season starts, the group wants to train volunteers and find office space and supplies that could be used by the program.

Volunteers will do simple tax preparations and provide basic financial counseling.

Those interested in volunteering should contact Regina Campbell at the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati at (513) 421-9400, (800) 582-2682 or rcampbell@lascinti.org.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com