Code for America Wins Anthem Award for Its Work to Make the Child Tax Credit More Equitable and Accessible

• Code for America’s Simplified Tax Filing Portal—getctc.org—Enabled Over 115,000 Families to Successfully File Returns and Claim an Estimated $440 Million in Tax Benefits

Code for America, the leading nonprofit tech organization that works with community leaders and governments to deliver equitable, accessible digital tools and services, announced that it has won an Anthem Award for its work to make the Child Tax Credit more equitable and accessible.

In September, Code for America launched a new simplified tax filing portal—located at GetCTC.org and released in collaboration with the White House and US Department of the Treasury. The portal was free to use, accessible on desktops and mobile devices, and available in both English and Spanish. Code for America also led a national awareness campaign to educate people about the portal and encourage them to file their tax returns through it.

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Over 10 weeks in fall 2021, over 115,000 families successfully filed returns using GetCTC, claiming an estimated $440 million. Surveys of Code for America clients showed that they found the tool easy to use—including those who had rarely or never filed. Code for America will be relaunching its portal in the coming months.

“We’re honored that Code for America’s work to simplify tax filing and deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in flexible cash has been recognized,” said David Newville, Senior Program Director for Tax Benefits, Code for America. “Over 100,000 families—many of whom had never filed taxes in their lives—successfully used GetCTC in 2021, usually finishing the whole process on a smartphone in about 10 minutes. And the impact for these families was enormous. The average family received nearly $4,000 from using GetCTC; some received over $20,000. In total, GetCTC enabled over 115,000 families to successfully file returns and claim an estimated $440 million in tax benefits they were owed.  What began as an experiment in simplification turned into a successful model for other outreach and engagement efforts in the future.”

Rather than submitting a full tax return, GetCTC filed what the IRS calls a “simplified return,” containing just the information needed to issue Child Tax Credit and stimulus payments. In other words, GetCTC asks for no more information than was required to make these payments accurately.

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Code for America won a Silver Anthem Award in the cagotory of Responsible Technology Campaign—Non-Profit.

Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Members include Daniel Dae Kim (actor, producer, and activist);  Ashley Judd (Author, Actor, and Social Justice Humanitarian); Mitchell Baker (CEO and chairwoman, Mozilla); Lisa Sherman (president and CEO, Ad Council), Sarah Kate Ellis (president and CEO, GLAAD); Renata Erlikhman (chief investment officer, OW Management); Shayla Tait (director of philanthropy, The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation); Russlynn Ali (CEO and co-founder, XQ Institute); Marc Ecko (chief commercial officer and board member, XQ Institute); Heidi Arthur (chief campaign development officer, Ad Council); and Alexis M. Herman (chair and chief executive officer, New Ventures, and former U.S. secretary of labor).

“It is our distinct honor to recognize the work that brands, organizations, and individuals are all making to create an impact in their community,” said Jessica Lauretti, Managing Director, The Anthem Awards. “We launched this platform to show the world that all corners of our culture, from sports and entertainment to business leaders and celebrities, are all standing up to say, it is time for systemic change and that social good is what we value as a society.”

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