CA Income Tax Check-off initiative update

As part of the stack of bills introduced and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger late last year, a tax credit check-off box benefiting ALS research was added to the 2008 CA State income tax return. Initially, the bill was not scheduled to go into effect until the 2009 tax year. However, thanks to some very quick action taken by the Franchise Tax Board, CA taxpayers were able to make a difference, one year early!

The 896 early birds who filed in January 2009 designated $8,630 toward ALS research. Avg donation per filer was $9.63

Through March, 8000+ taxpayers had designated $86,154 to the fund. The average donation thru March was $10.76 per return.

April filers were even more generous!! 6240 Californians checked the ALS box and an additional $76,931 was directed to the research fund. Avg. donation on the April returns: $12.33!

So....the totals for the 2008 tax season are: 14,248 returns, with an average donation of $11.45 per return, for a grand total of $163,085 designated for research. Hard times always seem to bring out the best in people, and it’s amazing (and gratifying!) to see how quickly it all adds up!

You can check our progress, by clicking the following link to the contribution report: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/vcfsr/reports/023.pdf

PS: If you filed an extension...please remember to "check the ALS box" when you file your return.