Earned Income Credit

The earned income credit can result in a significant savings in taxes.

Make claiming tax credits easier

Do your taxes online, for free:
TurboTax allows you to work on your return for free, until you file. Work on your federal, state, and small business taxes, and pay nothing until you are satisfied with your return. Start now.

Avoid costly mistakes, and take advantage of all possible credits and deductions. (Claiming tax credits is really easy with TurboTax).

Click here to start

Earned income credit: who qualifies

The Earned Income Credit is designed to benefit families and individuals with lower incomes.

To qualify, you must have been employed during some part of the year and have investment income no more than $2,550.

Sidebar
The easiest way to see if you qualify is through the H&R Block e-filing interview, which figures out your eligibility and the amount the credit.

Earned income credit: the amount

To qualify for the earned income credit, you must earn no more than:

  • $35,263 if you have two or more children to get the $4,300 max. credit
  • $31,030 if you have one child to get the $2,604 max. credit
  • $11,750 if you have no children to get the $390 max. credit

For joint filers the limits are a little higher. You must also be between 25 and 65, not be claimed as a dependant, and have maintained a household for the past six months

Earned income credit: other restrictions

Your qualifying children must meet the following criteria:

  • Relationship: the child must be your son, daughter, adopted child, stepchild, or foster child
  • Residency: the child must have lived with you in your residence in the U.S. for at least six months.
  • Age: the child must be no more 19, or 24 for full-time students


Use H&R Block to make everything easier.

Related IRS publications

Get more information about Schedule EIC, and other requirements from IRS Publication 596 (in PDF.)

Note: you will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these publications, which you can get here.