The Self-Employment Tax Initiative (SETI)
What is SETI?
The Self-Employment Tax Initiative (SETI) is a small business development strategy that takes advantage of the tax code to help low-income, self-employed individuals formalize and grow their businesses, create jobs and access tax-based asset-building opportunities. SETI recognizes the tax season as an incredibly opportune time to introduce self-employed business owners to a host of products and services that support small business development and asset building.
- SETI awards grants to community-based organizations that offer free or affordable tax preparation assistance to low-income, self-employed individuals.
- SETI conducts research and facilitates field building among our local partners to identify optimal ways to serve self-employed people.
- SETI promotes sound tax policy as it relates to the self-employed.
What Opportunities Are We Creating with This Approach?
- Asset building for low-income households.
- Growing and expanding micro businesses and creating jobs.
- Building a more sustainable economy.
More About SETI
- Click here to download the SETI Program Overview, which provides an overview of the SETI strategy and the program's history.
- Click here to download the SETI Fact Sheet, with data about self-employed individuals, the value of their contributions to the American economy and the opportunity to help them grow at tax time.
- Click here or download the SETI Tax Year 2011 Partners & Programs Summary to learn more about the work we're supporting during the 2012 tax season.
What's New?
- In August 2012, SETI released a report titled "Expanding the VITA Scope for the Self-Employed: Tax Year 2011 Schedule C VITA Pilot." This report sheds light on lessons learned about this year's pilot initiative that tested the viability of expanding limitations on Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs' service offering to reach more low-income entrepreneurs.
- In June 2012, SETI released a white paper titled "The VITA Value Proposition: Expanding Free Tax Assistance Program Parameters to Empower Low-Income Microbusinesses." Sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Sam’s Club Giving Program, this white paper makes a series of arguments regarding why the IRS should expand the limited scope of its current Schedule C Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Pilot to the entire VITA system.
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