Sec. 32 Earned Income Credit: Limits and Qualifying Children

You qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit if you have earned income from working, a Social Security number valid for employment, investment income of $11,950 or less, and adjusted gross income under a limit that depends on your filing status and number of qualifying children. For the 2025 tax year, that AGI ceiling ranges from $19,104 for a single filer with no children up to $68,675 for a married couple filing jointly with three or more children, and the credit itself runs from $649 to $8,046.¹ The EITC is fully refundable, so any amount above what you owe in tax comes back to you as a refund.²

The Rules Every Claimant Must Meet

Regardless of whether you have children, five basic requirements apply.

You need earned income, meaning money you received for work performed. Wages, salaries, tips, and net self-employment profit all count. Pensions, annuities, Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, child support, and investment returns do not.³

You, your spouse if filing jointly, and every child you claim must each have a Social Security number valid for employment, issued on or before the due date of your return including extensions. An ITIN does not work. If either spouse on a joint return has an ITIN rather than an SSN, the credit is unavailable entirely.⁴

Your investment income for the year must be $11,950 or less. That figure includes taxable and tax-exempt interest, dividends, capital gains, royalties, and net income from passive activities such as rental real estate you didn’t actively participate in.¹ One dollar over the cap disqualifies you.

Your filing status must be single, head of household, married filing jointly, or qualifying surviving spouse. Married filing separately generally disqualifies you, with one exception: you can file separately and still claim the credit if you have a qualifying child who lived with you 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 or court decree by year-end.¹

You must also be a U.S. citizen or resident alien for the entire tax year.⁵

Income Limits and Credit Amounts for 2025

Your AGI must fall under these thresholds for the 2025 tax year (the return you’ll file in 2026). The maximum credit rises sharply with the number of qualifying children.¹p>

No qualifying children — AGI below $19,104 (single or head of household) or $26,214 (married filing jointly). Maximum credit: $649.
One qualifying child — AGI below $50,434 (single or head of household) or $57,554 (married filing jointly). Maximum credit: $4,328.
Two qualifying children — AGI below $57,310 (single or head of household) or $64,430 (married filing jointly). Maximum credit: $7,152.
Three or more qualifying children — AGI below $61,555 (single or head of household) or $68,675 (married filing jointly). Maximum credit: $8,046.

Adding one qualifying child transforms the credit. A single filer with no children caps at $649; the same filer with one child sees the AGI limit more than double and the maximum credit rise to $4,328.³ Only workers at the very low or very high end of the range get the maximum or the smallest amounts; most claimants land somewhere in between as the credit phases up on earned income and then gradually shrinks after AGI passes a threshold set for their family size and filing status.

What Makes a Child a Qualifying Child

A child has to pass three tests to count for the EITC: relationship, residency, and age. There is no support test, so you don’t need to show you paid more than half of the child’s expenses.

Relationship

The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child, or eligible foster child. Siblings and stepsiblings count too, as does any descendant of these relatives — grandchildren, nieces, and nephews all qualify.⁶

Residency

The child must have lived with you in the United States for more than half the year. Temporary absences for school, medical care, or vacation still count as time at home. A child born or who died during the year meets the test if your home was the child’s home for the entire time the child was alive.⁶

Age

The child must be under 19 at the end of the tax year. Full-time students who attended school at least five months during the year qualify up to age 24. A child with a permanent and total disability qualifies at any age. The IRS considers someone permanently and totally disabled when a physical or mental condition prevents any substantial work and a doctor has determined that the condition has lasted or will last at least a year, or could lead to death. Sheltered employment doesn’t count as substantial work.⁷

The Child’s SSN

Every qualifying child listed must also have a valid SSN issued by the due date of your return. A child with only an ITIN, or an SSN marked “Not Valid for Employment,” cannot be used to claim the EITC.⁴

When Two People Could Claim the Same Child

Only one taxpayer can use a given child for the EITC. If both parents claim the child and aren’t filing jointly, the credit goes to the parent the child lived with longer during the year. If time was equal, the parent with the higher AGI wins.⁶ Between a parent and a non-parent, the parent takes priority. The only exception: if the parent doesn’t claim the child, the non-parent with the highest AGI among eligible non-parents can.⁸

If You Don’t Have a Qualifying Child

The credit is available without children, but the rules tighten. You must be at least 25 and under 65 at year-end. On a joint return, at least one spouse has to fall in that age range. You must have lived in the United States for more than half the year, and you cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else’s return.⁵ When you claim the credit with a qualifying child, no age requirement applies to you.

Special Situations: Military and Clergy

Active-duty service members can elect to include nontaxable military pay — combat pay, the Basic Allowance for Housing, and the Basic Allowance for Subsistence — as earned income when figuring the credit.⁹ The election can raise or lower your credit depending on where your income sits in the phase-in and phase-out ranges, so run it both ways. Combat pay appears on the W-2 in box 12 with code Q.

Clergy face the reverse issue. If a church provides a parsonage or a housing allowance, you must count the rental value as earned income from self-employment when figuring the EITC.⁹ That rule doesn’t apply if you have an approved Form 4361 or Form 4029 exempting your income from self-employment tax; even then, wages you earn as a minister who is an employee still count as earned income for the credit.

Claiming the Credit and When to Expect a Refund

You have to file a federal income tax return to get the EITC, even if your income is low enough that you wouldn’t otherwise have to file. Use Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. If you’re claiming based on a qualifying child, attach Schedule EIC, which asks for each child’s name, SSN, relationship, and how long they lived with you. Without a qualifying child, no Schedule EIC is needed.¹⁰

Keep supporting documents in case the IRS asks. W-2s and self-employment records establish earned income. School enrollment letters, medical records, and childcare provider statements showing the child lived at your address are the kind of proof that ends an audit quickly.

Federal law requires the IRS to hold the entire refund on any return claiming the EITC or the Additional Child Tax Credit until mid-February, no matter how early you file. If you file electronically and pick direct deposit, most EITC refunds arrive by March 2 assuming no issues with the return.¹¹ Filing early still puts you at the front of the line once the hold lifts.

State Earned Income Credits

More than 30 states offer their own version of the earned income credit on top of the federal one. Most calculate the state credit as a percentage of the federal amount, running from roughly 4% to as high as 125% depending on the state; a few use their own formulas. If you qualify federally, check whether your state has a matching credit — it’s usually claimed on the state return you’re already filing.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 596 (2025), Earned Income Credit (EIC)
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 32 – Earned Income
3
Internal Revenue Service. Earned Income and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Tables
4
Internal Revenue Service. Basic Qualifications
5
Internal Revenue Service. Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
6
Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules
7
Internal Revenue Service. Disability and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
8
Internal Revenue Service. Tie-Breaker Rule
9
Internal Revenue Service. Military and Clergy Rules for the Earned Income Tax Credit
10
Internal Revenue Service. How To Claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
11
Internal Revenue Service. When To Expect Your Refund if You Claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit