Who qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

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Low- to moderate-income workers with qualifying children may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) if certain qualifying rules apply to them.

You may qualify for the EITC even if you can't claim children on your tax return. Find out how to claim the EITC without a qualifying child.

Basic qualifying rules

To qualify for the EITC, you must:

Special qualifying rules

The EITC has special qualifying rules for:

If you're unsure if you qualify for the EITC, use our Qualification Assistant.

Valid Social Security number

To qualify for the EITC, you, your spouse if filing jointly, and the child claimed for the credit must have a valid Social Security number (SSN).

To be valid, the SSN must be:

  • Valid for employment. The social security card may or may not include the words “Valid for work with DHS authorization.”
  • Issued on or before the due date of the tax return (including extensions)

A valid SSN does not include:

  • Individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN)
  • Adoption taxpayer identification numbers (ATIN)
  • Social security numbers on a social security card with the words, "Not Valid for Employment."

For more information about the Social Security number rules for the EITC, see Rule 2 in Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

U.S. citizen or resident alien

To claim the EITC, you and your spouse (if filing jointly) must be U.S. citizens or resident aliens.

If you or your spouse were a nonresident alien for any part of the tax year, you can only claim the EITC if your filing status is married filing jointly and you or your spouse is a:

  • U.S. Citizen with a valid Social Security number or
  • Resident alien who was in the U.S. at least 6 months of the year you're filing for and has a valid Social Security number

Filing status

To qualify for the EITC, you can use one of the following statuses:

Married filing separate

You can claim the EITC if you are married, not filing a joint return, had a qualifying child who lived with you for more than half of the tax year and either of the following apply.

  • You lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of tax year, or 
  • You are legally separated according to your state law under a written separation agreement, or a decree of separate maintenance and you didn't live in the same household as your spouse at the end of the tax year. 

Head of household

You may claim the Head of Household filing status if you're not married, had a qualifying child living with you more than half the year, and you paid more than half the costs of keeping up your home.

Costs include:

  • Rent, mortgage interest, real estate taxes and home insurance
  • Repairs and utilities
  • Food eaten in the home
  • Some costs paid with public assistance

Costs don't include:

  • Clothing, education, and vacations expenses
  • Medical treatment, medical insurance payments and prescription drugs
  • Life insurance
  • Transportation costs like insurance, lease payments or public transportation
  • Rental value of a home you own
  • Value of your services or those of a member of your household

Qualifying surviving spouse

To file as a qualifying widow or widower, all the following must apply to you:

  • You could have filed a joint return with your spouse for the tax year they died.
  • Your spouse died less than 2 years before the tax year you're claiming the EITC, and you did not remarry before the end of that year.
  • You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
  • You have a child or stepchild you can claim as a relative (this does not include a foster child) and the child lived in your home all year.

Note: There are exceptions for temporary absences and for a child who was born or died during the year and for a kidnapped child. For more information, see Qualifying Child Rules, Residency.

Claim the EITC without a qualifying child

You are eligible to claim the EITC without a qualifying child if you meet all the following rules.
You (and your spouse if filing jointly) must:

  • Meet the EITC basic qualifying rules
  • Have your main home in the United States for more than half the tax year
    • The United States includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. military bases. It does not include U.S. possessions such as Guam, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico
  • Not be claimed as a qualifying child on anyone else's tax return
  • Be at least age 25 but under age 65 (at least one spouse must meet the age rule)

Other credits you may qualify for

If you qualify for the EITC, you may also qualify for other tax credits.

Resources

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 14-Nov-2024