The Washington State Department of Revenue told the House Finance Committee on Jan. 14 that the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) issued more and faster refunds in its second year of operation, and outlined outreach and administrative changes intended to expand participation.

Steve Ewing, legislative and external affairs liaison for DOR, said year-two results showed a 22% increase in refunds and a 28% increase in dollars refunded compared with 2023. "In year 2, 80% of refunds went to households with children," Ewing said, and he added that roughly two-thirds of refunds were issued within 30 days following application processing improvements.

Why this matters: the WFTC was enacted to reduce regressivity in state and local taxes and to boost income for low- and moderate-income households. DOR estimated about 350,000 Washington households are eligible and said outreach and process changes materially increased uptake in the program’s second year.

What DOR reported:

- Participation and payments: DOR reported year-over-year growth and credited outreach grants ($5 million provided in the last budget), partnerships with 27 community organizations, and agency-to-agency outreach (for example, mailings by DSHS and HCA) for boosting applications and awareness. DOR said about one million children benefited from the program and reported an average refund per application of about $750.

- Process and vendor changes: DOR added four new modernized e-file (MEF) vendors in year two and will onboard TurboTax as a MEF vendor for the 2025 filing season. The department also added prepaid debit cards as a payment option to reduce check-cashing barriers and introduced Spanish correspondence for written communications.

- Eligibility and data constraints: The program generally mirrors the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) rules; applicants must file a federal return and be Washington residents for at least 183 days in the tax year. DOR highlighted a statutory expansion (House Bill 1477) that allowed applications for the three prior tax years and said that change yielded roughly 18,000 additional applications and about $13 million in refunds tied to prior-year claims.

- Outreach and equity: DOR said 9% of refunds went to households including at least one individual with an ITIN; the department noted that many ITIN holders are self-employed or gig workers who otherwise lack Social Security numbers. DOR emphasized partnerships with community organizations and state agencies to reach populations with limited access to conventional tax filing routes.

Next steps and planning: DOR told the committee it plans to continue targeted outreach, pursue data-sharing options with state agencies to better identify eligible households, fully integrate the WFTC into the IRS Direct File program by 2026, and keep onboarding MEF vendors to simplify filing.

Committee members asked for clarifications on payment distribution, the age threshold for childless filers (25–64 aligns with federal EITC rules), and ITIN usage; DOR staff provided technical answers and said more granular program data is available in the department’s public report.