If you earned less than $45,060 (or $50,270 if you’re married and filing jointly) last year, you may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The maximum credit for tax year 2012 is $5,891.
Even if you don’t owe any tax or are not required to file, you must file a tax return in order to claim the credit.
The IRS estimates that one out of five eligible taxpayers fails to claim their EITC each year. The IRS wants everyone who is eligible for the credit to get the credit that they’ve earned.
Here are the top five things the IRS wants you to know about this credit.
- EITC is valuable. The EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. You base the amount of EITC on your earned income and the number of qualifying children in your household. The average credit was around $2,200 last year. If you qualify, the credit could be worth up to $5,891.
- Review your eligibility. If your financial, marital or parental situations change from year to year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules. Just because you didn’t qualify last year doesn’t mean you won’t this year.
- File your return. If you are eligible for the EITC, you must file a federal income tax return to claim the credit – even if you are not otherwise required to file. Remember to include Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit, when you file your Form 1040. If you file Form 1040A, use the EIC worksheet and keep it for your records. If you use IRS e-file to prepare and file your tax return, the software will guide you and not let you forget this important step. E-file does the work and figures your EITC for you!
- Know the qualifications. You should understand the qualifications for EITC before claiming it, including:
- You do not qualify for EITC if your tax filing status is Married Filing Separately.
- You must have a valid Social Security number for yourself, your spouse – if filing a joint tax return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC.
- You must have earned income. You have earned income if you are paid wages, you are self-employed, you have income from farming or you receive disability income.
- Married couples and single people without children may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet age and residency requirements as well as dependency rules.
- Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay as earned income for the purpose of computing the EITC. Even if you make this choice, your combat pay will remain nontaxable.
- Use the EITC Assistant. It’s easy to determine if you qualify. The EITC Assistant, a helpful tool available on IRS.gov, removes the guesswork from eligibility rules. Just answer a few simple questions to find out if you qualify and to estimate the amount of your EITC.
Do you qualify for EITC?
