Earned Income Tax Credit

E52960

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable federal tax credit in the United States that supplements the wages of low- to moderate-income workers, particularly those with children, to reduce poverty and encourage employment.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
EITC 1

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf anti-poverty program
federal tax credit
income support program
refundable tax credit
administeredBy Internal Revenue Service
administrationMethod claimed on annual federal income tax return
alsoKnownAs Earned Income Tax Credit
surface form: EITC

Earned Income Credit
appliesTo low-income workers
moderate-income workers
basedOn adjusted gross income
earned income
filing status
number of qualifying children
benefitType refundable credit payable even if no income tax is owed
country United States of America
surface form: United States
createdBy United States Congress
economicEffect increases after-tax income of eligible workers
provides work incentive through earnings subsidy
effectOnTaxes can generate tax refund
reduces federal income tax liability
eligibilityCriterion cannot use married filing separately status
investment income must not exceed statutory limit
must be U.S. citizen or resident alien for the tax year
must file a federal income tax return
must have earned income from employment or self-employment
must have valid Social Security number
qualifying child must have valid Social Security number
qualifying child must meet age test
qualifying child must meet relationship test
qualifying child must meet residency test
fundingSource federal government
introducedInYear 1975
isRefundable true
legalBasis Internal Revenue Code
surface form: Internal Revenue Code section 32
phaseInStructure credit increases with earnings up to a maximum
phaseOutStructure credit decreases as income rises above a threshold
policyGoal encourage employment
reduce poverty
supplement wages
support working families
primaryBeneficiaries workers with children
programType means-tested benefit
relatedProgram Additional Child Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit
state earned income tax credits
requiresEarnedIncome true
requiresForm Schedule EIC for taxpayers with qualifying children
scope nationwide in the United States
secondaryBeneficiaries childless workers
targetPopulation low-income families with children
working poor

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Earned Income Tax Credit alsoKnownAs Earned Income Tax Credit
this entity surface form: EITC