Earned Income Credit

If you were married filing jointly and earned less than $49,078 ($43,998 for individuals, surviving spouses or heads of household) in 2011, you may qualify for this tax credit, or even for a refund check. It's complicated, but the Earned Income Credit (EIC) is worth exploring if you or someone you know has modest earnings.

• The credit reduces any federal income tax you owe, dollar-for-dollar.
• If the credit completely eliminates your tax bill, and some credit is still left over, you can actually get a cash refund for the remaining  amount.

To help you find out if you qualify, Turbo Tax asks simple questions so you can get the largest possible credit.

First you have to qualify. Then your income has to be within stated limits. Finally, if you have one or more kids, they have to qualify too for you to receive a larger credit. If you pass all these tests, you could get a credit of as much as $5,751 for 2011 depending on your income and the number of children you have.

Once you determine that you qualify for the credit, use the Earned Income Credit table found in the instructions for Form 1040 (or Forms 1040A or 1040EZ) to look up your income and find out the amount of credit you're entitled to.

Check out our mobile app to see if you qualify: EITC Finder

• You have income from earnings (for example, from a job, your own business, union strike benefits, certain long-term disability benefits).
• You did not receive more than $3,150 in interest or dividends, or income from rentals, royalties or stock and other asset sales during 2011.
• You are single or, if married, do not use the Married Filing Separate status.
• You, your spouse and children, if applicable, all have Social Security numbers.
• You and your spouse are not being considered as a child on someone else's tax return for purposes of the earned income credit.
• You are not excluding any income you earned in a foreign country on your return.
• You are a citizen or resident of the United States.
• You have dependents.
• You do not have a qualifying child, but you and your spouse are between 25 and 65, not the dependents of anyone else, and you have lived in the United States for more than half of the year.

This credit is targeted at households with modest incomes, so if you earn "too much" you may not qualify. Just how much can you earn and still qualify? It depends on how many qualifying children you have (we'll define this in a moment). Those with the lowest income qualify for the biggest credits. Those with incomes above the phase-out threshold qualify for lower credits until they reach the point where the credit is eliminated completely. The rules have been liberalized to result in higher credits for many households, especially those with three or more qualifying children. The following table shows the 2010 income limits for receiving credits and the maximum 2010 credit amounts.

To qualify, the child must be:

• Your son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child or a descendant.
• Your foster child, placed with you by an authorized agency or court order.
• Your brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of one of these.
• Age 18 or younger as of the end of the year (unless he or she is a full-time student, in which case the student must be 23 or younger). Exception: A person who is permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year qualifies, no matter how old.
• A resident with you in the United States for more than half of the year.

You and your sister live together. You are 30 and your sister is 15. When your parents died two years ago, you took over the care of your sister, but you did not adopt her. She is considered a qualifying child because she lived with you more than half of the year.

For the Earned Income Credit, a foster child is defined as an individual who is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or court order. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.

The Earned Income Credit has no effect on certain welfare benefits. Any refund you receive because of the EIC will not be considered income when determining whether you are eligible for, or how much you can receive from, the following benefit programs:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Food stamps
• Low-income housing

For more information on whether you qualify for the credit, use the TurboTax program. An overview is also available in Publication 962: Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit.

For complete details, see IRS Publication 596: Earned Income Credit (EIC).