EITC Fast Facts

Use one or more of the following EITC facts during the 2024 filing season in your articles, flyers, speeches or presentations to better target the EITC Key Communication Messages to your audience.

 

• • Nationwide during 2023, approximately 23 million eligible workers and families received about $57 billion in EITC

  • The average amount of EITC received nationwide was about $2,541¹

 

• EITC is for workers whose income does not exceed the following limits in 2023:
  • $56,838 ($63,398 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children who have valid SSNs
  • $52,918 ($59,478 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children who have valid SSNs
  • $46,560 ($53,120 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child who have valid SSNs
  • $17,640 ($24,210 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children who have valid SSNs

** Investment income must be $11,000 or less

 

• Children must meet certain relationship, age, residency and joint return requirements to be a qualifying child. See if your child qualifies you for EITC; see "Qualifying Child Rules" on irs.gov or Publication 596.

 

• Take the credit you’re due. The EITC credit ranges from:
  • $11 to $7,430 with three or more qualifying children
  • $10 to $6,604 with two qualifying children
  • $9 to $3,995 with one qualifying child
  • $4 to $600 with no qualifying children

 

• About one-third of the EITC eligible population turns over each year, so check your EITC eligibility today at www.IRS.gov/eitc.

 

• EITC can be a boost to you, your family and community. Anyone with earnings of $63,398 or less should see if they qualify at www.IRS.gov/eitc or visit a volunteer tax assistance site.

 

• Four of five eligible workers claim and get their EITC. We want to raise that number to five out of five. You earned it, "now file, claim it and get it." See if you qualify at www.IRS.gov/eitc.

 

• The EITC and CTC greatly reduce poverty for working families. These working-family tax credits lifted 5.6 million people out of poverty in 2018, including 3 million children, and made 17.5 million other people less poor.²

 

• Millions of workers qualify for EITC for the first time this year, making awareness critical. Workers move into and out of eligibility based on changes in their marital, parental and financial status.

 

• If you qualify for EITC, see what other child-related tax credits you may be eligible to claim.

 

• The amount of the EITC depends on the amount you earned from working for someone or for yourself, whether you are married or single, and the number of qualifying children you have, if any. Don’t miss out, find out if you are eligible at www.IRS.gov/eitc.

 

• If you qualify for EITC, you must file a federal income tax return and claim the credit to get it, even if you owe no tax or aren’t required to file a return.

 

• Workers at risk for overlooking this important credit include those:
  • Living in non-traditional homes, such as a grandparent raising a grandchild
  • Whose earnings declined or whose marital or parental status changed
  • Without children
  • With limited English skills
  • Veterans
  • Living in rural areas
  • Who are Native Americans
  • With earnings below the filing requirement
  • Who have disabilities or are raising children with disabilities

 

• If you qualify for the Federal EITC, you may also be eligible for a similar credit from your state or local government. Twenty-eight states, plus local municipalities including the District of Columbia and New York City, offer residents an earned income tax credit for 2023.

 

• You can determine your eligibility and file and claim your EITC for free:
  • Use the online EITC Assistant at www.irs.gov to help you determine if you are eligible. 
  • If you made $64,000 a year or less in 2023, you can access free tax return preparation services available at more than 13,000 community volunteer tax assistance sites.
  • If you made $79,000 or less in 2023, you can use brand name software products through IRS’s Free File and electronically file your return to claim your EITC. Visit  www.IRS.gov to access the software.
    • The IRS works with national partners, community-based coalitions and thousands of local partners and governments. These partnerships provide free EITC tax return preparation and tax help and tax education.

 

• You should choose a tax preparer carefully. You are responsible for the accuracy of your own return. If you pay someone to prepare your tax return, the preparer must sign it and enter his or her PTIN, Preparer Tax Identification Number. Don’t ever sign a blank tax return. Find out what you should know if you pay someone to do your taxes.

 

• If you claim EITC that indicates you were reckless or showed intentional disregard of the EITC rules or fraud, your refund could be denied and you may be banned from claiming the credit for 2 to 10 years.

 

¹Source: Calendar Year Report, December 2023.

²Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Policy Basics: The Earned Income Tax Credit, April, 2023.

 

Additional Reference Material

• EITC Key Messages - Using the same key messages makes our collaborative efforts more powerful.
• Tips for Writing a Feature Story - you can use one of our "Grab and Go" products listed below, but if you choose to create your own see these handy tips.
• EITC Statistics by State - find the number of EITC Claims, the total EITC amount paid and the average amount paid per claim for tax returns filed during 2023 for the 2022 Tax Year.

 

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