Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited a United Way of King County free tax preparation site on Tax Day to remind folks to take advantage of the new Washington State Working Families Tax Credit.

Inslee visited El Centro De La Raza, a nonprofit organization in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood that houses one of more than a dozen United Way free tax prep sites open through today’s April 18 Tax Day. Currently in its 20^th year, United Way of King County’s Free Tax Preparation Campaign helps people who make $80,000 or less take advantage of earned income tax credits, the nation’s most vital anti-poverty measure.

Inslee is among several state and local lawmakers who have visited our free tax sites this year. All have lauded our efforts to help King County residents capitalize on this year’s Washington state Working Families Tax Credit, a provision that will give yearly cash payments of as much as $1,200 to nearly 400,000 low-to-moderate income households in Washington state. Along with federal tax credits, such as those for children and earned income, state residents have some of the most effective poverty fighting tools in the nation at their disposal.

But don’t just take our word for it. Listen to Governor Inslee via video from our El Centro De La Raza site:

Indeed, as of April 17, United Way has filed 8,223 returns. The total amount refunded has been $$11,116,201 and the average total refund amount per return of $1,851.

Our free tax prep sites offer community intake specialists who assist at our tax sites by maintaining client waitlists, answering questions and connecting clients to important community resources. Then there are our in-person tax preparation specialists, all IRS-certified volunteers who provide one-on-one, hands-on tax preparation for all clients. We also offer our services in multiple languages to maximize accessibility.

Regularly, our Free Tax Prep campaign runs from January to at least today’s Tax Day. But United Way understands that some people simply cannot file by today’s deadline while others have tax concerns that go well beyond today. That’s why, this year, some of United Way’s free tax prep sites will remain open until April 20, and some sites will then reopen the week of May 1 and remain open until at least mid-July. That includes this El Centro site, which will close today but reopen on May 2.

That means if you can’t get your taxes done by midnight tonight, you still have time to do so. Stop by one of our free tax sites today