Tax Season Wrap-up
By Isabel Dickson, Economic Mobility Program Manager
Colorado continues to lead the nation in building a more supportive tax code for families—this year adding the Family Affordability Tax Credit (FATC) and credits for early childhood educators and health workers. The FATC alone delivered up to $3,200 per child to eligible families in 2025.
Yet many families remain unaware of their eligibility or avoid engaging with the tax system altogether, often because they’re not required to file due to low income, or feel uncomfortable interacting with government programs. These barriers deepened in 2025 due to shifts in the federal landscape.
In this changing environment, state and local partners used a range of outreach efforts, from statewide media to tailored, community-based engagement. Statewide initiatives included:
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Get Ahead Colorado / Hacia Adelante Colorado: radio, TV, digital ads, texts
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Text campaigns to SNAP, TANF, CCAP (child care assistance), and PDIS (early childhood educator training) participants
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New and continued partnerships with 211, MyFriendBen, RMPBS, Colorado PEAK, and state benefits programs
The campaign led with a new Colorado-specific tax credit calculator, developed in partnership with Gary Community Ventures. Users could enter their income and dependents to quickly receive an estimate of their refund amount, then connect to free filing services. The average refund amount calculated was $7,000.
While mass outreach can be effective in driving traffic to next steps, some community members may be left out, such as people who speak a language other than English, or people who feel more comfortable receiving messages from trusted sources in their communities. Local public health agencies (LPHAs) play a crucial role in reaching these individuals through trusted messengers and warm handoffs. Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties led the way by:
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VITA site hosting in community resource locations and libraries
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Paying “volunteer” tax preparers to promote equity
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Securing new funding from Gary Community Ventures
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Expanding outreach partnerships and referral systems
Incredible Impact: The Adams county VITA site filed 508 returns for a total of $1,226,630 in refunds to community members. Jefferson county was the top community partner in driving traffic to the tax calculator. Arapahoe leads an LPHA learning circle for economic mobility strategies. Mesa County modeled strong integration by embedding tax assistance into its trusted Grand Valley Connects resource navigation network. Larimer and Fremont counties leveraged their strong community partner relationships to get the word out so more of their families receive their refunds - which can be thousands of dollars.
These strategies have drawn national interest, with Colorado’s community economic mobility work highlighted at CityMatCH, Public Health in the Rockies and AMCHP conferences.
There are many ways to get involved—whether it’s embedding a website widget, displaying flyers, making quick referrals, or partnering with your library. If your agency is interested in exploring how to connect your community to economic resources, reach out to LPHA or state staff (including me) working in this space. We’d love to connect with you!
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