

To qualify, the spouse claiming the credit must have a qualifying child living with them for more than half the year. Beginning in 2021, married but separated spouses who do not file a joint return may qualify to be treated as not married for Earned Income Tax Credit purposes. Prior to 2021, many married taxpayers had to file jointly with their spouse to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. You may owe the IRS if you claim deductions or credits to which you weren’t entitled.Ī12. If others can claim you as a dependent and you don’t indicate this on your tax return, it can cause significant processing delays for you or others. Note: Before including the Earned Income Tax Credit on your tax return, be sure that others – such as your parents – cannot claim you as a dependent. Prior to 2021, the Earned Income Tax Credit for those without qualifying children was only available to people ages 25 to 64. If you were 18 years old in 2021, did not have qualifying children, had earned income, and were homeless in 2021 or formerly in foster care, then you might qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit when you file your tax return for 2021.Īlso, for 2021 only, the Earned Income Tax Credit now has no age limit cap for eligible taxpayers without qualifying children. Can a student claim the Earned Income Tax Credit for 2021?įor 2021, there are special exceptions for some taxpayers who were 18 years old. However, certain students under age 24 don't qualify. Generally, if you were at least 19 years old, did not have qualifying children, and had earned income, you might qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit when you file your tax year 2021 tax return.

Questions and Answers – Tax Year 2021 Earned Income Tax CreditĪ4. More information about reliance is available. Additionally, prior versions of these FAQs will be maintained on IRS.gov to ensure that taxpayers, who may have relied on a prior version, can locate that version if they later need to do so. Any later updates or modifications to these FAQs will be dated to enable taxpayers to confirm the date on which any changes to the FAQs were made. Nonetheless, a taxpayer who reasonably and in good faith relies on these FAQs will not be subject to a penalty that provides a reasonable cause standard for relief, including a negligence penalty or other accuracy-related penalty, to the extent that reliance results in an underpayment of tax. Similarly, if an FAQ turns out to be an inaccurate statement of the law as applied to a particular taxpayer's case, the law will control the taxpayer's tax liability. Because these FAQs have not been published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, they will not be relied on or used by the IRS to resolve a case. Accordingly, these FAQs may not address any particular taxpayer's specific facts and circumstances, and they may be updated or modified upon further review. These FAQs are being issued to provide general information to taxpayers and tax professionals as expeditiously as possible. In addition, families can use pre-pandemic income levels to qualify if it results in a larger credit. More people without children now qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the federal government's largest refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income families. This Fact Sheet provides frequently asked questions (FAQs) for Tax Year 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit. Note: These FAQs have been superseded by FAQs that were posted in FS-2022-30 on May 25, 2022.
