How to Complete and Submit Form 15111: Earned Income Credit Worksheet

Form 15111 is the short worksheet the IRS sends with Notice CP09 when their records show you likely qualified for the Earned Income Credit but did not claim it. To complete and submit Form 15111, confirm you meet the eligibility rules, fill in the contact block and the three numbered steps, sign under penalty of perjury, and return it either through the IRS Document Upload Tool using the access code on your notice or by mail in the pre-addressed envelope that came with the notice.¹

If your notice is CP27 rather than CP09, you need Form 15112 instead. The eligibility rules are the same, but the two worksheets are not interchangeable.²

Confirm You Actually Qualify

The IRS flagged your return because your income looked like it fell in range, but the worksheet still requires you to certify eligibility yourself. The Earned Income Credit is a refundable credit for working people below certain income thresholds, and the amount depends on filing status and number of qualifying children.³ Several rules can disqualify you regardless of income:

Investment income above $12,200 for the tax year disqualifies you outright.
You, your spouse if filing jointly, and every qualifying child must each have a valid Social Security number issued for employment. An ITIN does not count, and neither does a card marked “Not Valid for Employment.”⁴
You must have lived in the United States for more than half the tax year. Military personnel on extended active duty outside the U.S. are treated as living in the U.S. during that service.⁵
You cannot be claimed as a qualifying child on someone else’s return.
Married filing separately generally disqualifies you unless you had a qualifying child living with you for more than half the year and you either lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year or were legally separated under a written agreement.⁶

If you have no qualifying children, one more rule applies: you must be at least 25 but under 65 at the end of the tax year. On a joint return, at least one spouse has to meet the age requirement.⁶

A child counts as your qualifying child only if they meet the relationship, age, and residency tests. Relationship covers son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, half-sibling, stepsibling, or a descendant of any of these. On age, the child must be under 19 at the end of the tax year and younger than you, under 24 if a full-time student for at least five months and younger than you, or any age if permanently and totally disabled. The child must also have lived with you in the United States for more than six months during the tax year.⁷

What to Have in Front of You

Your Notice CP09, including the access code printed on it if you plan to submit electronically.
Social Security cards for you, your spouse if applicable, and every qualifying child. Names and numbers must match Social Security Administration records exactly.
Your originally filed tax return, since the worksheet references filing status and dependents.
W-2s and any 1099s documenting earned income for the tax year in question.

If you are a military member who received nontaxable combat pay (W-2 box 12, code Q), you can choose whether to include it as earned income when calculating the credit. You must include all of it or none of it. Spouses filing jointly can make this choice independently.⁸

Filling Out the Worksheet

The form has a contact block and three numbered steps. It is a screening worksheet: if you hit a disqualifying answer, the form tells you to stop and not send it in.⁵

Contact Information

Enter your name and Social Security number, your spouse’s name and SSN if you filed jointly, your current mailing address, and a daytime phone number you actually answer. The IRS may call if something needs clarifying.

Step 1: Disqualifying Statements

Step 1 lists three statements. Check the box next to any that applies to you or your spouse:

You lived in the United States for six months or less during the tax year.
Your Social Security card reads “Not Valid for Employment” and was issued to receive a federally funded benefit.
You are a qualifying child of another person under the criteria the form spells out.

If you check any box, stop. You do not qualify and should not return the form.⁵ If none apply, leave all boxes blank and move on.

Step 2: Qualifying Children

Step 2 asks whether you are claiming a qualifying child who was already listed as a dependent on your original return. For each child, enter the name, Social Security number, and confirm whether the child lived with you in the U.S. for more than six months during the tax year.

This is where many people run into trouble. If the child you want to claim was not listed as a dependent on your original Form 1040, Form 15111 will not work. The worksheet directs you to file an amended return on Form 1040-X instead.⁵

Step 3: Eligibility Determination and Signature

Step 3 walks you through the outcome of Step 2. If at least one child meets the residency requirement, you may be eligible for the credit with a qualifying child. If no dependent qualifies, you may still be eligible for the smaller childless credit if you meet the age rule and are not claimable as someone else’s dependent. Sign and date the form. The signature certifies the information under penalty of perjury.

Sending It Back

You have two submission options:

IRS Document Upload Tool. Enter the access code printed on your CP09 notice and upload a scanned or photographed copy of the signed, completed form. The IRS asks you to submit within 30 days of the notice date.¹
Mail. Place the signed worksheet in the pre-addressed envelope that came with your notice. The address routes to the regional center that processes these claims.

Do not attach Form 15111 to a new or amended Form 1040 unless an IRS agent specifically tells you to. It is a standalone document, and bundling it can delay processing or send it to the wrong department.¹ Keep a copy of the signed form and the notice for your records.

What Happens Next

The IRS generally processes approved claims within six to eight weeks. If you qualify and do not owe back taxes or other federal debts, you will receive a refund check by mail. The direct deposit information from your original return may not carry over, so expect a paper check unless the notice tells you otherwise.¹

If eight weeks pass with no word, call the IRS at 800-829-0922. Have your notice and a copy of the form on hand.¹

If the IRS decides you do not qualify, you will receive Letter 105C for a full denial or Letter 106C for a partial one. You can request review by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals or challenge the decision in U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The deadline to file suit or petition for appeal is two years from the date the disallowance letter was mailed.

When Form 15111 Is the Wrong Form

Form 15111 only works when the qualifying child you are claiming was already a dependent on your original return. If you need to add a child who was not on the return, correct your filing status, or fix income figures, file Form 1040-X instead.⁵ In those situations the worksheet itself tells you to stop.

Don’t Miss the Refund Window

You generally have three years from the date you filed the original return (or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later) to claim a credit or refund. A return filed before the due date is treated as filed on the due date for this purpose.⁹ Once that window closes, the IRS will not pay the refund even if you qualified. Respond to Notice CP09 well before the deadline runs out.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP09 Notice
2
Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP27 Notice
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 32 – Earned Income
4
Internal Revenue Service. Basic Qualifications
5
Internal Revenue Service. Earned Income Credit (EIC) Worksheet (CP 09)
6
Internal Revenue Service. Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
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Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules
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Internal Revenue Service. Military and Clergy Rules for the Earned Income Tax Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Time You Can Claim a Credit or Refund