The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is piloting a new tax preparation initiative in three US cities - and Durham is one of them. The new initiative is called “Ready, Set, Save.” And it’s targeted to households who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit – primarily moderate to low income households with children. Tiki Windley is a Program Manager at MDC in Durham. She says they serve several organizations that provide free tax preparation service. Windley says there is a very small window of opportunity to plant a seed about saving.
“And that’s right before you tell the client the amount of their refund. And we’re very realistic. We tell our clients we know you’re going to spend some of it, and that’s okay, it’s human nature. But, think about, it’s going to be another year before you receive this jack-pot,” said Windley.
Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jackson, Mississippi are also pilot sites for “Ready, Set, Save.”