EITC fast facts

Use one or more of the following EITC facts during the 2025 filing season in your articles, flyers, speeches or presentations to better target the EITC key communication messages to your audience.

  • Nationwide during 2023, approximately 23 million eligible workers and families received about $57 billion in EITC
     

  • The average amount of EITC received nationwide was about $2,5411
     

  • EITC is for workers whose income does not exceed the following limits in 2024:

    • $59,899 ($66,819 if married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children who have valid SSNs
    • $55,768 ($62,688 if married filing jointly) with two qualifying children who have valid SSNs
    • $49,084 ($56,004 if married filing jointly) with one qualifying child who have valid SSNs
    • $18,591 ($25,511 if married filing jointly) with no qualifying children who have valid SSNs
       

    Investment income must be $11,600 or less

  • Children must meet certain relationship, age, residency and joint return requirements to be a qualifying child. See if your child qualifies you for EITC; see Qualifying child rules on IRS.gov or Publication 596.
  • Take the credit you’re due. The EITC credit ranges from:
    • $11 to $7,830 with three or more qualifying children
    • $10 to $6,960 with two qualifying children
    • $9 to $4,213 with one qualifying child
    • $2 to $632 with no qualifying children
       
  • About one-third of the EITC eligible population turns over each year, so check your EITC eligibility today at IRS.gov/eitc.
     
  • EITC can be a boost to you, your family and community. Anyone with earnings of $59,899 ($66,819 if married filing jointly) or less should see if they qualify at IRS.gov/eitc or visit a volunteer tax assistance site.
  • Four of five eligible workers claim and get their EITC. We want to raise that number to five out of five. You earned it, "now file, claim it and get it." See if you qualify at IRS.gov/eitc.
  • The EITC and CTC greatly reduce poverty for working families. These working-family tax credits lifted 5.6 million people out of poverty in 2018, including 3 million children, and made 17.5 million other people less poor.2
  • Millions of workers qualify for EITC for the first time this year, making awareness critical. Workers move into and out of eligibility based on changes in their marital, parental and financial status.
  • If you qualify for EITC, see what other child-related tax credits you may be eligible to claim.
  • The amount of the EITC depends on the amount you earned from working for someone or for yourself, whether you are married, separated from your spouse, or single, and the number of qualifying children you have, if any. Don’t miss out, find out if you are eligible at IRS.gov/eitc.
  • If you qualify for EITC, you must file a federal income tax return and claim the credit to get it, even if you owe no tax or aren’t required to file a return.
  • Workers at risk for overlooking this important credit include those:
    • Living in non-traditional homes, such as a grandparent raising a grandchild
    • Whose earnings declined or whose marital or parental status changed
    • Without children
    • With limited English skills
    • Veterans
    • Living in rural areas
    • Who are Native Americans
    • With earnings below the filing requirement
    • Who have disabilities or are raising children with disabilities
  • If you qualify for the federal EITC, you may also be eligible for a similar credit from your state or local government. Twenty-eight states, plus local municipalities including the District of Columbia and New York City, offer residents an earned income tax credit for 2024.
  • You can determine your eligibility and file and claim your EITC for free:
    • Use the online EITC Assistant at IRS.gov to help you determine if you are eligible. 
    • If you made $67,000 a year or less in 2024, you can access free tax return preparation services available at more than 13,000 community volunteer tax assistance sites.
    • If you made $79,000 or less in 2024, you can use brand name software products through IRS’s Free File and electronically file your return to claim your EITC. Visit IRS Free File: Do your taxes for free to access the software.
    • Use Direct File if you have a simple tax situation and live in one of the 24 states IRS accepts electronically filed returns directly from taxpayers. Direct File doesn't prepare state returns but will guide you to a state-supported preparation and filing tool after you have finished your federal return.
  • You should choose a tax preparer carefully. You are responsible for the accuracy of your own return. If you pay someone to prepare your tax return, the preparer must sign it and enter his or her preparer tax identification number (PTIN). Don’t ever sign a blank tax return. Find out what you should know if you pay someone to do your taxes.

  • If you claim EITC that indicates you were reckless or showed intentional disregard of the EITC rules or fraud, your refund could be denied and you may be banned from claiming the credit for 2 to 10 years.

Related

  • EITC key messages - Using the same key messages makes our collaborative efforts more powerful.
  • Tips for writing a feature story - you can use one of our "Grab and go" products listed below, but if you choose to create your own see these handy tips.
  • EITC statistics by state - find the number of EITC Claims, the total EITC amount paid and the average amount paid per claim for tax returns filed during 2024 for the 2023 tax year.

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1 Source: Calendar Year Report, December 2023.

2 Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Policy Basics: The Earned Income Tax Credit, April 2023.

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 21-Jan-2025