A newly established website at West Virginia University may help low income families qualify for tax credit.

Coordinated by the WVU College of Laws Clinical Law Program, the new website takes users through questions that determine credit eligibility for Earned Income Credit, and provides access to relevant Internal Revenue Services, said Marjorie McDiarmid, WVU law professor.

If eligible, the site at http://elf.law.wvu.edu/eic prints out a copy of the tax return form with directions on how to apply for the credit. It also can be reached at http://www.wvlegalservices.org

“Even people who do not normally file a tax return because they make too little money will want to check out this resource,”McDiarmid said.

Earned Income Credit will pay benefits to eligible people, which can be higher than the taxes withheld.

“This is a way for eligible people with limited incomes to actually get money from the IRS ,”she said.

Many West Virginians do not get their credit entitlements, McDiarmid added. A study conducted by the WVU College of Law last year concluded that more than $17.5 million was not collected by former welfare recipients.

“This represents the loss of millions of dollars that West Virginia and its poor families need,”McDiarmid said.

The WVU Clinical Law Program and Legal Aid of West Virginia developed the web site as a result of the studiesfindings, she added.

WVU College of Law Dean John Fisher said,”We are glad to be able to use the resources of the WVU law school to aid citizens throughout the state in meeting their legal obligations and benefiting appropriately from government programs designed to assist them.”

For more information, call the WVU College of Law, 304-293-3199, or go to http://www.wvlegalservices.org

Those needing tax preparation assistance, can call 1-866-982-3482.