The Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC is a tax credit for working families to help refund the some of the taxes (like FICA) that are taken off your paycheck. To qualify, you must have earned income from a job and meet certain income requirements. Because not everyone worker knows about the EITC, thousands of eligible families do not claim the EITC every year an lose out on money that could help pay for food and clothes and other bills or be saved for an emergency or a rainy day.
EITC (and additional Child Tax Credit) returns will not be issued by the IRS until February 15th. This means if you file early, you should not expect to receive the refund in your bank account (or a check in the mail) until the end of the month.
There is both a federal EITC and a state EITC, so be sure to claim both! The Michigan EITC credit is equal to 6 percent of your federal credit. To better understand how the EITC impacts Michigan communities, click here.
EITC Eligibility And Credit Amount Information for Tax Year 2021
| Number of Qualifying Children | For Single/Head of Household or Qualifying Widow(ed), or Married Filing Separately*, Income Must be Less Than | For Married Filing Jointly, Income Must be Less Than | Range of EITC |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Child | $21,430 | $27,380 | $2 to $1,502 |
| One Child | $42,158 | $48,108 | $9 to $3,618 |
| Two Children | $47,915 | $53,865 | $10 to $5,980 |
| Three or More Children | $51,464 | $57,414 | $11 to $6,728 |
*Investment income must be $10,000 or less for the year. (Source: IRS website)
Don’t pay to get your taxes done–file for free!
Even if you may not qualify for the EITC, you can still get your taxes prepared at a VITA or TCE site by an IRS trained preparer if your income is $57,000 or less. There are probably a free tax sites in your community. Check back in January for a link to locate a free tax preparation site near you and, because this list is updated as information becomes available, check back often. You can also call 2-1-1 for help locating the VITA/TCE site nearest you.