Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) - Find out if you qualify

EITC stands for Earned Income Tax Credit and is a refundable tax credit that helps low to moderate income workers and their families get a tax break and potentially increase their refund. 

• Have worked and earned income under a certain amount depending on the number of dependents you have.
• Have investment income below $10,300 in the tax year 2022
• Have a valid Social Security number by the due date of your 2022 return (including extensions)
• Be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien all year
• Not file Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income
• Meet certain rules if you are separated from your spouse and not filing a joint tax return

You can determine your eligibility and file and claim your EITC for free:

• Use the online EITC Assistant at www.irs.gov to help you determine if you are eligible. 
• If you make $60,000 a year or less in 2022, you can access free tax return preparation services available at more than 13,000 community volunteer tax assistance sites.
• If you made $73,000 or less in 2022, you can use brand name software products through IRS’s Free File and electronically file your return to claim your EITC. Visit  www.IRS.gov to access the software.
  • The IRS works with national partners, community-based coalitions and thousands of local partners and governments. These partnerships provide free EITC tax return preparation and tax help and tax education.
     

EITC is for workers whose income does not exceed the following limits in 2022:

• $53,057 ($59,187 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children who have valid SSNs
• $49,399 ($55,229 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children who have valid SSNs
• $43,492 ($49,622 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child who have valid SSNs
• $16,480 ($22,610 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children who have valid SS
   

Qualifying children are children that meet the 4 tests: Age, Relationship, Residency, and Joint Return.

1. Age- The child must be totally and permanently disabled; under 19; or under 24 and a full time student.
2. Relationship- The child must be your: son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child; sibling, half sibling, or step sibling, grandchild, niece, nephew or foster child;
3. Residency-The child must have lived in the same home as you in the U.S. for more than half of the year. 
4. Joint Return-The child can not file their own joint return.           
   1. Example of this would be if your child is married, but still meets the other tests. If your child files with their spouse then you can not claim the EITC for them. 
       

No, in order to claim the EITC you must be a U.S. Citizen or Resident alien who was in the U.S for at least 6 months during the year you are filing for and have a valid Social Security number. A social security number is required and the IRS does not accept the following: ITIN, ATIN, or social security numbers that are not valid for employment. 

In order to claim the EITC for a child they must be your qualifying child and meet 4 tests: Age, Relationship, Residency, and Joint Return. As a part of the residency test, the child must live in the same home as you in the United States for more than half of the tax year. This means it is not possible for a non-custodial parent to claim the EITC for their child because the child did not stay more nights with them than the other parent. It does not matter if the divorce decree indicates that it is your year to claim the child for the purposes of the EITC, the child must have stayed with you the most number of nights in order to claim it. 

In order to claim the EITC you must file a current tax return.

In order to clThe IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

The VITA program has operated for over 50 years. VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including:

• People who generally make $60,000 or less
• Persons with disabilities; and
• Limited English-speaking taxpayers

You can find a VITA site near you by entering your zip code at: https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Low Income Tax Clinic can be reached by calling 1-833-284-6227