How Do I Claim Earned Income Tax Credit?
Q) How Do I Claim Earned Income Tax Credit?
A) According to the IRS – You need to file a tax return to claim Earned Income Tax Credit. Find out how—documents you need, common errors to watch for, the consequences of filing an Earned Income Tax Credit return with an error, how to get help preparing your return and more.
To claim EITC on your tax return, you must meet all the following rules:
- You, your spouse (if you file a joint return), and all others listed on Schedule EIC, must have aSocial Security number that is valid for employment
- You must have earned income from working for someone else or running or operating a farm or business
- Your filing status cannot be married filing separately
- You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year, or a nonresident alien married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien and filing a joint return
- You cannot be a qualifying child of another person
- You cannot file Form 2555 or Form 2555 EZ (related to foreign earned income)
- You must meet the earned income, AGI and investment income limits (income limits change each year), see EITC Income Limits for the tax year amounts
- And you must meet one of the following:
- Have a qualifying child (see who is a qualifying child below)
- If you do not have a qualifying child, you must:
- be age 25 but under 65 at the end of the year,
- live in the United States for more than half the year, and
- not qualify as a dependent of another person.
If you qualify for EITC, you have to file a tax return with the IRS, even if you owe no tax or are not required to file.
Because the IRS processes the first return it receives, if another person claims your dependent first, the IRS will reject your return. The IRS won’t tell you who claimed your dependent. But if you don’t suspect anyone who could have claimed the dependent, your dependent may be a victim of tax identity theft. You’ll need to take some steps to protect your right to claim the dependent and your refund if you don’t think that the other person was eligible to claim your dependent. First, double check that you meet all of the requirements to claim the dependent.
The IRS may delay your refund while the IRS looks into the issue, but you should still receive your refund. File a paper return. Note that when you file a paper return, it can take six to eight weeks for the IRS to process. This includes things like birth certificates and proof of identity, but also documents that show that your dependent lived with you at the same address for more than half of the year. This doesn’t mean that you can’t correct the situation. Don’t panic. The most important thing to remember is to prove with proper documentation that you are entitled to claim the dependent. Document your case as the IRS rules for claiming a dependent can get complicated.