Virginia Department of Social Services

The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) is developing a randomized evaluation to test the impact of texting Virginia residents who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on take-up rates of the EITC. The EITC is a federal tax credit designed to support low to moderate-income working families. It encourages and promotes work and off-sets federal payroll tax and income taxes. VDSS currently sends reminder notifications via mail and email to clients who are potentially eligible for the EITC, but not everyone who is eligible for the EITC takes up the benefit; In 2018, the EITC take-up rate among eligible Virginia residents was about 80 percent. VDSS would like to conduct an RCT to test the effectiveness of texting and new messages to generate greater rates of tax filing and EITC claims for eligible people