Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): who gets it and how much it is

How much it can be

The maximum depends on how many qualifying children you have:

These are maximums. Your actual credit depends on what you earned: it grows as your income rises, stays flat for a while, then shrinks until it disappears.

Income limits

Your earned income and your adjusted gross income must each be less than these amounts:

The columns without "joint" apply to single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, and married filing separately filers who qualify. Your investment income (interest, dividends and the like) also can't be more than $11,950 for 2025 or $12,200 for 2026.

Basic rules

• Have earned income, as an employee or from self-employment.
• Have a Social Security number valid for employment, issued by the return's due date (including extensions). This applies to you, your spouse if filing jointly, and each child you claim.
• Be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. The exception: if you were a nonresident for part of the year, you can still claim it if you're married to a U.S. citizen or resident, you file jointly, and you choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for the whole year (which means reporting both spouses' worldwide income).
• Not file Form 2555 (foreign earned income).
• Not be someone else's qualifying child.

Which child qualifies

• Relationship: son, daughter, stepchild, adopted or foster child; brother, sister, half-sibling or stepsibling; or grandchild, niece or nephew.
• Age: under 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly); under 24 if a full-time student for at least 5 months; or any age if permanently and totally disabled.
• Lived with you in the U.S. for more than half the year. The 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. military bases count, so a child living in another country, such as Mexico, doesn't qualify for the EITC.
• Has a valid Social Security number and didn't file a joint return (unless only to claim a refund).

If you don't have a qualifying child

You can still get the credit, though the maximum is smaller. You must be at least 25 but under 65 at the end of the year (if filing jointly, one spouse meeting this is enough), have had your main home in the U.S. for more than half the year, and not be someone else's dependent.

ITINs and Social Security numbers

• If you or your spouse (on a joint return) have an ITIN instead of a Social Security number, you can't get the EITC. This rule is stricter than the Child Tax Credit's, where one spouse with a Social Security number is enough.
• If you have a valid Social Security number but your children don't, you can claim the smaller credit for people without a qualifying child, if you meet its rules.
• A Social Security card that says "Not valid for employment" doesn't work for the EITC. If your status changed (for example, you're now a permanent resident or citizen), ask Social Security for a new card without that legend. A card that says "Valid for work only with DHS authorization" does work while that authorization is still valid.
• If the number was issued after the return's due date, you can't use it for that year, not even by amending.

Important: in August 2026, the Treasury and the IRS proposed rules so that only U.S. citizens, nationals or "qualified aliens" could receive the refundable part of the EITC and other credits. It's still a proposal and would apply starting with the year it's published as a final rule.

Married filing separately

You can only claim the EITC when filing separately if you have a qualifying child who lived with you for more than half the year, and either you lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the year, or you're legally separated under state law (by a written separation agreement or a decree of separate maintenance) and didn't live in the same household as your spouse at the end of the year.

When the refund arrives, and earlier years

By law, the IRS can't send refunds before mid-February on returns that claim the EITC, and the wait applies to the whole refund. For the 2026 filing season, the IRS said most would arrive by March 2 for people who chose direct deposit and had no other issues with their return.

If you qualified and didn't claim it, you have three years from that return's due date to claim it on an amended return (Form 1040-X).

Common mistakes and consequences

• Claiming a child who doesn't meet the rules, which the IRS says is the most common error.
• Two people claiming the same child.
• Names or Social Security numbers that don't match the card exactly.
• Filing as single or head of household while married.
• Leaving out a W-2 or 1099, or over- or under-reporting income.

If the IRS denies the credit, you'll have to pay it back with interest and there may be a 20% penalty. For reckless or intentional disregard of the rules, you can't claim it for 2 years; for fraud, 10. After a denial, you usually must attach Form 8862 the next time you claim it.

The IRS EITC Assistant helps you find out whether you qualify. Many states also have their own earned income credit; check yours.