The Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC, is a tax credit for people who work, and earn low to modest incomes. Those who qualify and claim the credit could pay less federal tax, pay no tax or even get a tax refund. As of December 2024, more than 23 million workers and families received about $64 billion in EITC. The average amount of EITC received nationwide was about $2,7431.
EITC Awareness Day is an event organized by the IRS and its partners to educate the public about the EITC and requirements to claim the credit. The goal is to raise awareness of EITC to ensure every qualified worker claim and receive their EITC. We also ask you to join us in getting the right message out about the CTC/ACTC and the AOTC to the right people who deserve the credits.
EITC could put up to $7,830 into the pockets of eligible taxpayers (even more if they live in a state with a similar state credit). This is money taxpayers can use to make their lives a little easier now or money they can put away for a rainy day. But workers must file a tax return and claim the credit to receive it. And, that all begins with awareness of EITC.
Range of EITC for 2024 tax year
The amount of EITC is based on income, filing status, and the number of qualifying children.
Number of qualifying children |
For single/head of household or qualifying surviving spouse, income must be less than |
For married filing jointly, income must be less than |
Range of EITC |
---|---|---|---|
No child |
$18,591 |
$25,511 |
$2 to $632 |
One child |
$49,084 |
$56,004 |
$9 to $4,213 |
Two children |
$55,768 |
$62,688 |
$10 to $6,960 |
Three or more children |
$59,899 |
$66,819 |
$11 to $7,830 |
Investment Income Limit: $11,600 or less
Other EITC resources for press, taxpayers, return preparers and IRS partners
- IRS Media Relations Office - Contact number
- IRS Multimedia Center
- Key communication messages
- EITC statistics
- Statistical sample
- EITC qualifications
- EITC Assistant, an interactive tool for determining eligibility and calculating credit. This tool is multilingual and is available for the current tax year and three prior years.
- Refund information, a resource on how to track the status of a refund
- Partner Outreach toolkit, a resource for EITC information and products that contains templates, statistics, fact sheets, how-to tips and information products to help partners increase EITC awareness.
- Tax Preparers toolkit, a resource for all tax return preparers to help them prepare tax returns correctly and give them the facts they need to know to meet their due diligence requirements.
- Other Refundable Credits toolkit, a resource for certain credits other than the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — that is, the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) and the refundable part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). We also provide resources for the non-refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC), Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC) and the non-refundable part of the AOTC.