Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

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.

Basic Qualifying Rules

To qualify for the EITC, you must:

Have worked and earned income under $63,398
Have investment income below $11,000 in the tax year 2023
Have a valid Social Security number by the due date of your 2023 return (including extensions)
Be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien all year
Not file Form 2555 (related to foreign earned income)

Special Qualifying Rules

The EITC has special qualifying rules for:

To qualify for the EITC, everyone you claim on your taxes must have a valid Social Security number (SSN). To be valid, the SSN must be:

Valid for employment
Issued before the due date of the tax return you plan to claim (including extensions)

For the EITC, we accept a Social Security number on a Social Security card that has the words, "Valid for work with DHS authorization," on it.

For the EITC, we don't accept:

Individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN)
Adoption taxpayer identification numbers (ATIN)
Social Security numbers on Social Security cards that have the words, "Not Valid for Employment," on them

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

Filing Status

In 2023, to qualify for the EITC, you can use one of the following statuses:

Married filing jointly
Head of household
Qualifying widow or widower
Single
Married filing separate

You can claim the EIC if you are married, not filing a joint return, had a qualifying child who lived with you for more than half of 2023, and either of the following apply.

You lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2023, 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 2023.

There are special rules if you or your spouse are a nonresident alien.

Head of Household

You may claim the Head of Household filing status if you're not married and pay more than half the costs of keeping up your home where you live with your qualifying child.

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. It does not matter if you filed a joint return.
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.
This child lived in your home all year, except for temporary absences. Note: There are exceptions for a child who was born or died during the year and for a kidnapped child.

Keeping up a Home

If you paid more than half the total cost to keep up a home during the tax year you file your taxes, you meet the requirement of paying more than half the cost of keeping up the 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:

Money you got from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or other public assistance programs
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

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

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 you file a joint tax return) must:

Meet the EITC basic qualifying rules
Have your main home in the United States Virgin Islands for more than half the tax year
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)