Washington State Is Finally Offering Working Family Tax Credit

It only took a little more than ten years since it was passed by the Washington State Legislature, but the Evergreen State has now come in line with a number of others when it comes to tax credits being available to low income and working families.

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In 2008, the Legislature passed SB 6809 and its companion HB 3234 to establish a working family tax exemption in Washington State.  The Governor at that time,  Christine Gregoire, signed it into law on April 1st, 2008.  However the date of the bill signing should have been read into a little further as Gov. Gregoire would then refuse to fund the program.

In 2021 lawmakers finally chose to fund the program along with expanding the tax credit and making administration of the program easier though HB 1297.  You do not just receive the tax credit, which is based on eligibility for the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit.  You need to first determine if you can receive the working family tax credit through the Washington State Department of Revenue.

I can save you a little time with the eligibility process:

1. Have a valid Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
2. Lived in Washington State for more than six months of the year
3. Be between 25 and 64 years of age or have a child that qualifies
4. Filed a Federal Tax return in 2022
5. Eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit through the federal government on your latest tax return to the IRS.

It Doesn't Mean You'll Be Swimming in Money

While the Working Family Tax Credit is a nice start, it isn't as much as you may think.  A family with three eligible children, married filing jointly, making under $59,187 will receive a maximum of $1200.  That $400 per child. If you are single with zero children you'll need to make less than $16,480 to get $300 back.