By Piya Jacob, SCC Board Secretary
As tax time draws near for many of us, there’s still time for you take advantage of the 2019 Arizona Tax Credit to benefit local, qualifying non-profit organizations. The contribution time for 2019 is extended through April 15th, allowing you to choose Sedona Community Center and other eligible non-profits as recipients for your Arizona Tax Credit.
The state of Arizona allows taxpayers to direct a portion of their state taxes to help charitable, foster care, and educational organizations in the state. You will get a dollar for dollar tax credit for your contribution. This is a way for every taxpayer to have a say in where and how their tax dollars are spent.
It may sound complicated at first glance, but it’s really simple. You give a contribution to the qualifying non-profit of your choice, and submit a simple form while completing your taxes that indicates the contribution goes towards your tax credit. In other words if you owe $ 3000 to the state in taxes you can offset this amount by contributing up to $400 if you are an individual or $800 if you are a couple filing jointly. Non-profit organizations need to meet certain guidelines to qualify for this tax credit. The Sedona Community Center is one of these qualifying organizations.
The annual tax credit contributions help us to provide meals to those in need that live in our community. We serve a community lunch every week day at noon and we deliver over 70 meals daily to those who are unable to come to eat at the Center. Our army of volunteers makes sure that no one in our community goes hungry. With your help we hope to make sure that everyone who needs it will continue to have a healthy, hot meal Monday through Friday and a weekly bag of food items to help them through the weekends.
You are allowed to make a full contribution for the school tax credits AND the one to support organizations like the Community Center. We hope that you will take full advantage to help educate and feed those who live in our great city. A tax credit is a way for you to have a direct say in how your state taxes are spent. If you think that food services for those who live among us is a good way to spend your state taxes we hope you will use the Arizona State Tax Credit to support the vital work of the Sedona Community Center.
To view a list of qualifying charities and to find out more about the Arizona Tax Credit go to: azdor.gov/forms/tax-credits-forms/credit-contributions-qualifying-charitable-organizations. Tax Credit Form 321—the form you fill out to take advantage of the tax credit—is also located on this website in a fillable, printable PDF form. A link to the Sedona Community Center’s website—SedonaSeniorTaxCredit.org will also connect you with Arizona Tax Credit information and explain why supporting homebound, isolated Seniors is more important now than ever in our local community.
Stay connected to your community through regular visits to the Sedona Community Center. Along with the daily lunches, we have special speakers and entertainers, and an array of fitness, creative, and wellness classes to keep us healthy and happy. Find out more at www.sccsedona.org or on site at 2615 Melody Lane.
