Currently employed? You might be eligible for a $1,500 cash boost for 2022 via the Earned Income Tax Return.
Low- to moderate-income workers with qualifying children may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) if certain qualifying rules apply to them.
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You may qualify for the EITC even if you can’t claim children on your tax return, but only if you meet all the following:
- Meet the EITC basic qualifying rules
- Have your main home in the United States for more than half the tax year
- The United States includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. military bases. It does not include U.S. possessions such as Guam, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico
Not be claimed as a qualifying child on anyone else’s tax return
- Be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of the tax year (usually Dec. 31)
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You are not eligible to claim the EITC if:
- Your filing status is married filing separately
- You filed a Form 2555 (related to foreign earned income)
- You or your spouse are nonresident aliens.
To qualify for the EITC, you must:
- Show proof of earned income
- Have investment income below $3,650 in the tax year you claim the credit
- Have a valid Social Security number
- Claim a certain filing status
- Be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien all year
To qualify for the EITC, everyone you claim on your taxes must have a valid Social Security number (SSN). To be valid, the SSN must be:
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- Valid for employment
- Issued before the due date of the tax return you plan to claim (including extensions)
For the EITC, we accept a Social Security number on a Social Security card that has the words, “Valid for work with DHS authorization,” on it.
For the EITC, we don’t accept:
- Individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN)
- Adoption taxpayer identification numbers (ATIN)
- Social Security numbers on Social Security cards that have the words, “Not Valid for Employment,” on them
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The International Business Times reports that while those who claimed it in 2016 qualified with an investment income limit of $3,400 or less and were able to get a maximum of $506 if they had no qualifying children, those in 2017 qualified with an investment income limit of $3,450 and received $510 if they had no qualifying children.
Those numbers changed to $3,500/$519, $3,600/$529 and $3,650/$538 in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.
For 2021, where the $1,502 credit can be claimed, the Investment income limit is $10,000 or less.
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