Earned Income Tax Credit

The United States federal earned income tax credit or earned income credit (EITC or EIC) is a refundable tax credit for low- and medium-income individuals and couples, primarily for those who have qualifying children. When the credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund to those who claim the credit. For a person or couple to claim one or more persons as their qualifying child(ren), the relationship, age, and shared residency requirements must be met, as well as some other requirements. U.S. tax forms 1040EZ, 1040A, or 1040 can be used to claim EIC without qualifying children. To claim the credit with qualifying children, 1040A or 1040 must be used along with Schedule EIC attached.

EIC phases in slowly, has a medium-length plateau, and then phases out more slowly than it phased in. And since the credit phases out at 21% (more than one qualifying child) or 16% (one qualifying child), it is always preferable to have one more dollar of actual salary or wages (although technically, since the EIC table moves by fifty dollar increments, it's always preferable to have an extra fifty-dollar increment of salary or wages).

For tax year 2012, the maximum EIC for a single person or couple filing without qualifying children is $475. The maximum EIC with one qualifying child is $3,169, with two children is $5,236, and with three or more qualifying children is $5,891. These amounts are indexed annually for inflation.

The earned income tax credit has been part of political debates in the United States regarding whether raising the minimum wage or increasing EIC will better address shortages of good-paying jobs, as seems to be frequently the case for modern economies.