The Internal Revenue Service is sponsoring a public outreach event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Radisson Hotel Grand Rapids Riverfront to assist taxpayers who may be eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit.

This credit makes health coverage more affordable by allowing eligible individuals to pay only 20 percent of their health insurance premiums each month.

Nationwide, thousands of people are potentially eligible to receive the HCTC. Some of them are displaced workers who are certified by the Department of Labor as eligible to receive Trade Readjustment Allowances under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA). Others qualify because they receive benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and are between 55 and 65 years of age.

The HCTC Program partners with various federal and state agencies and Health Plan Administrators (HPAs) to deliver the tax credit to eligible individuals.

The HCTC is available on a monthly basis to help individuals pay their health insurance costs as they become due or on a yearly basis when they file their federal tax return. It is a refundable tax credit and is paid in full no matter how much federal income tax an eligible individual owes.

The HCTC began as a ground-breaking tax credit program in 2002 and was expanded in 2009 as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For more information, call 1-866-628-HCTC or visit http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=109915,00.html