Cedar County residents receive $94,000 in tax rebates, returns

Cedar County residents were able to receive more than $94,000 in federal and state income tax returns and Missouri Property Tax Credits with the help of three volunteers from Care Connection for Aging Services.
Volunteers Lewis Carnes, Jim Olson and Dixie Nixon donated 99 hours to help seniors file federal tax and state tax returns as well as applications for the Missouri Property Tax Credit.
The volunteers worked through Care Connection’s Korth Center in Stockton and the El Dorado Springs Senior Center.
The Progress Club of El Dorado Springs donated $200 to pay for printer ink and paper for the program, which operated in Cedar County.
“The Progress Club contribution was important because they did underwrite all of the supplies for the volunteers for the whole county,” said Kathy Ray Smith, who directs the tax assistance program for Care Connection.
Care Connection Care Manager Melanie Shinn, a member of the Progress Club, made its 19 members aware of the need for the funding.
“We are very supportive of the community and the county,” said Progress Club President Susie Bruce said. “It’s good to give back.”
The club’s main fundraiser is its sale of Memorial Day flowers.
In all, Care Connection had 26 volunteers who donated 1,394 hours to help people in 13 West Central Missouri counties receive a total of $974,546 through its tax assistance program in 2017.
In Cedar, the volunteers donated 99 hours to assist with 31 federal tax returns, 47 state returns and 84 state property tax credit applications, Ray-Smith said. The resulting total refunds were $94,366.
“This is important to the seniors individually, but the $94,000 is an incredible amount of money for the community, whether it is saved or used for goods and services,” Ray-Smith said. “For the individuals receiving the property tax credit, a lot of them plan all year what they might spend that refund on, whether it be on improvements on homes, eyeglasses and dentures, or maybe to pay off a bill.”
Care Connection’s staff can help file Missouri Property Tax Credit applications year round. Call 1-800-748-7826 for more information.