Updated November 2013
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Qualifications
2013 TAX YEAR QUALIFICATIONS
Source: IRS.gov
- Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:
- $46,227 ($51,567 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
- $43,038 ($48,378 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
- $37,870 ($43,210 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
- $14,340 ($19,680 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children
- Tax Year 2013 maximum credit:
- $6,044 with three or more qualifying children
- $5,372 with two qualifying children
- $3,250 with one qualifying child
- $487 with no qualifying children
- Investment income must be $3,300 or less for the year.
MORE QUALIFICATION UPDATES
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
January’s American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) extended through 2017 some important improvements that previous legislation made in the credits. These extensions include elements of the EITC that began with the 2009 Recovery Act as well as components of Child Tax Credit that date back to President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Extended elements of the 2013 EITC include:
- Added credit of up to $655 that families with three or more children may receive. This addition recognizes that larger families face a higher cost of living and that families with three or more children are more than twice as likely as smaller families to be poor.
- Expanded marriage penalty relief, reducing the financial penalty that some couples receive when they marry by allowing married couples to receive larger benefits at modestly higher income levels.
- Renewed CTC’s expansion from $500 per child to $1,000 and made it partly refundable.
- Renewed improvements from the 2009 Recovery Act that further strengthened the CTC to reach many more low-income working families and boosted the credit for many families who were receiving only a partial credit.
Child Tax Credit (CTC) Qualifications
2013 TAX YEAR QUALIFICATIONS
Source: IRS.gov
- Phase-out begins when adjusted gross income (AGI) reaches:
- $110,000 for married couples filing jointly
- $55,000 for married couples filing individually
- $75,000 for all other taxpayers
- Tax Year 2013 maximum credit:
- $1,000 for each qualifying child
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Resources
Find or start a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Site:
- Many counties in the United States have VITA sites. You can visit the IRS VITA site locator at http://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/.
- Many VITA sites are beginning to incorporate Free Assisted Self-Service Tax Preparation (FAST): http://www.irsvideos.gov/Individual/education/FASTGettingStarted
- Taxpayers utilize online software provided by members of the Free File Alliance (FFA) and can receive assistance from trained volunteers located on-site. Examples of free online filing sites include: www.MyFreeTaxes.com, www.icanefile.com, and www.freefile.com.
Find soup-to-nuts tools for designing EITC/CTC programs:
- EITC Platform: EITCPlatform.org is an online resource that offers practical tools, training, and group buying discounts to community-based tax preparation programs: https://www.eitcplatform.org.
- Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF): http://www.aecf.org/MajorInitiatives/CenterforFamilyEconomicSuccess/EITCFreeTaxAssistance.aspx.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS): IRS EITC Central provides outreach and training materials for tax preparers and partners: http://www.eitc.irs.gov. IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) is the outreach and education department of the IRS. They provide EITC forms, publications, toolkits, brochures, and other resources: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Become-an-IRS-Partner-to-Help-in-Your-Community.
Connect taxpayers with a Remote Certified Volunteer:
- Virtual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): IRS Publication 1084 (page 37) summarizes the structure and guidelines for Virtual VITA: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1084.pdf.
- Colorado’s Virtual VITA Program: http://www.coloradovita.org/frequently-asked-questions/virtual-vita/
Advocate for EITC/CTC:
- RESULTS: national organization that works to create the public and political will to end poverty. RESULTS regularly advocates for important income supports, including the EITC and CTC. To learn more about advocacy efforts, visit: http://www.results.org/issues/us_poverty_campaigns/economic_opportunity_for_all/earned_income_tax_credit/
Promote EITC/CTC:
- National Community Tax Coalition (NCTC): NCTC provides a wealth of training materials, data, and policy tools to promote the EITC: https://tax-coalition.org/
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP): CBPP’s National EITC Outreach Campaign has a number of resources to promote the EITC, free tax preparation alternatives, and asset development strategies: http://eitcoutreach.org/. The National EITC Outreach Partnership has developed a list of EITC coalitions by state so that you can find out who to partner with on EITC efforts in your area: http://www.cbpp.org/eitc-partnership/directory.htm.
- Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM): Show Me the Money Day is an annual event coordinated by the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) that connects people with free financial workshops and quality financial products, services and programs. Held in late January, the event kicks off tax season for communities: http://showmethemoneyday.org/.
Get the latest research and updates:
- Earned Income Tax Credit Promotes Work, Encourages Children’s Success at School, PDF of this report (15pp.) By Chuck Marr, Jimmy Charite, and Chye-Ching Huang[1], Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Putting the Affordable CareAct to Work: Practical Skills for Enrollment Assistance, Tina Alu, Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (powerpoint presentation)
Rural Family Economic Success Action Network 