What Is the EITC?
The Earned Income Tax Credit is money the government pays people for working on a low income. It is refundable, which is the important word: most tax credits can only reduce a bill to zero, but this one keeps going, so a household that owes nothing still receives the full amount as a refund. For families near the bottom of the income scale it is often the single largest payment of the year.
Do I Qualify? (SSN and Other Requirements)
Four things will stop the claim outright, whatever your income:
- A valid Social Security Number, for you and for a spouse you file with, issued by the return's due date. An ITIN does not work, and this is the requirement that catches most people out.
- Filing status. Married Filing Separately is generally out, unless you lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year and meet the other conditions in IRS Publication 596.
- Age, but only if you have no qualifying children: you must be 25 to 64 at the end of the year. With a child, age stops mattering.
- Investment income over $12,200 for 2026. This is a cliff rather than a slope: one dollar over and the credit is gone entirely, however little you earned from working.
How the Credit Phases In and Out
The credit is shaped like a tent. On the way up it grows with every dollar you earn — 34 cents on the dollar with one child, 40 with two, 45 with three or more — which is the part that rewards taking the work. It then sits flat at the maximum for a stretch. Past a threshold it falls again, at about 16 cents on the dollar with one child and 21 with two or more, until it reaches zero.
Maximum credit − (phase-out rate x income over the threshold) = your credit
One consequence is worth knowing: the phase-out threshold is the same whether you have one child or four. Extra children raise the maximum and stretch the far slope, but they do not move the point where the credit starts shrinking. Filing jointly does move it, by about $7,270 in 2026, which is the whole of the marriage adjustment in this credit.
Important Disclaimer
This is an educational estimate only, based on 2026 federal EITC rules, and is not tax advice. Your actual credit is calculated on your tax return using your exact AGI and IRS tables, which may differ slightly from the simplified formula used here. Many states also offer their own EITC on top of the federal credit — check your state's tax agency. For an official calculation, use the IRS EITC Assistant at irs.gov/eitc or consult a tax professional. irs.gov