Who Qualifies for Earned Income Credit?

3) Tests for persons with or without a qualifying child

All taxpayers wanting to claim the earned income tax credit must pass either all the tests with qualifying child or all the tests without qualifying child.

Either qualify for EIC with a qualifying child

If the taxpayer has a qualifying child, then the following tests must be met. Note that the taxpayer has to verify that the child is a qualifying child for these tests to be met.

• your child must meet the relationship test, the age test and the residency test explained in the dependency tests.

• the child cannot be used by more than one person to claim the EIC. However, the child can be a dependent of another taxpayer and he or she can still qualify you for the EIC.

• the taxpayer cannot be a qualifying child of another taxpayer.

Or qualify for EIC without a qualifying child

If the taxpayer claiming the earned income tax credit does not have a qualifying child, he or she may still be able to claim and qualify for the earned income tax credit if he or she meets all of the following tests. The taxpayer must:

• be 25 years old or older but younger than 65

• not be the dependent of another person

• not be a qualifying child of another person

• lived in the US more than half the year

If the taxpayer is married and filing jointly, only one of the two must satisfy the age requirement. Either the taxpayer must be at least 25 but younger than 65 or his or her spouse is. It does not matter which spouse meets the age test as long as one of you meets the test you can claim the earned income tax credit on your tax return.