Earned income tax credit 2025: eligibility criteria and refund amount!

The federal government offers the Earned Income Tax Credit as a tax break to low- to middle-income earners to reduce their financial burden and help lower their tax bill. The EITC is like other tax refund credits available to eligible US citizens.

As the 2025 tax season approaches, taxpayers should know about the EITC so they know how much they’ll get in the credit, eligibility, and many other things to get the tax credit. The article covers everything you want to know about the EITC for the 2025 tax season.

Tax relief on earned income in 2025

The IRS offers the credit to people who qualify for their earned income, such as wages, income from employers that don’t withhold taxes, self-employment, union strike pay, tax-free combat pay or certain disability benefits.

However, income not included in the EITC is interest, Social Security, alimony, child support, pensions or annuities, or wages from a penal institution. The EITC supports people with low to moderate incomes to lower their tax bills and help them save money. US citizens preparing to file their tax returns for the 2024 tax year should understand that such credits will help them increase their tax refunds.

Eligibility for the EITC depends on eligible children, but people without children can also get the EITC when they earn a certain amount of income and qualify for the credit. With this loan, the Government intends to reduce the financial burden for citizens who meet the conditions.

Who qualifies for Earned Income Tax Credit for the 2025 tax season?

US citizens with tax liability may qualify for the EITC in the 2025 tax season based on the following eligibility conditions:

• You must be a US resident and have tax liability for the 2024 tax year;
• Your investment income should be below the set limit for tax year 2024, that is $11,600 or less;
• Your adjusted gross income would need to meet the 2024 tax year limit to get the EITC, as

Number of children	Filing a tax return as head of household, single, married but filing separately, or widow(er)	Filing a tax return with married status, filing a joint return
0	18591 dollars	25,511 dollars
01	49,084 dollars	56,004 dollars
02	55768 dollars	62,688 dollars
03	$59,899	66,819 dollars

• If you are applying with a child, the child must meet the child eligibility requirements to receive the EITC;
• You should have a valid SSN (Social Security Number) and must not file a Foreign Earned Income Return (Form 2555),
• Individual applicants who have separated from their spouse must meet certain conditions to meet the EITC qualifications
• Military personnel, taxpayers who have relatives with certain disabilities, or members of the clergy should meet special requirements to receive the EITC;

What are the requirements for an EITC-eligible child?

People planning to claim the EITC with a child should check the following qualifying conditions for the child to receive the credit:

• An eligible child must have a social security number valid for the tax year,
• The age of a disabled child does not have to follow the age rule, however, the age of the child should be under 19 years.
• A child older than 19 or younger than 24 can have an EITC-eligible child if he or she was a permanent resident for at least five months in the 2024 tax year.
• The child can be your son, stepson, daughter, adopted child, adopted child, grandchild, brother, sister, half-sister/son, half-brother/sister, niece or nephew.
• They must live with you in the US for at least half of the tax year
• The child may not be claimed as dependent on someone else’s request, nor may the request be submitted to another person.

What is EITC eligibility without an eligible child?

Taxpayers planning to file for the EITC in the 2025 tax season without an eligible child should check the eligibility requirements without an eligible child below:

• You must meet the basic eligibility rules mentioned for the EITC claims above;
• You should have a principal residence in the US for at least half of the 2024 tax year, in the 50 states, US military bases and the District of Columbia;
• Do not claim that you are dependent on other people’s tax returns,
• You must be at least 25 years old and you should be under the age of 65 or your spouse meets the age rule for the non-qualifying child EITC.

Payment of tax on earned income in 2025

As we mentioned earlier, the EITC payment for the 2024 tax year due in 2025 is based on the number of eligible children, so taxpayers who plan to claim the EITC with their 2025 tax return can expect the following amount :

Number of eligible children	EITC amount for tax year 2024
Zero	632 dollars
One	4213 dollars
Two	6960 dollars
Three or more	7830 dollars

The IRS adjusts payment rates annually based on inflation, the inflation adjustment for tax year 2024 is proposed above the maximum EITC credits for qualified taxpayers based on the number of eligible children.

The IRS has already announced an inflation adjustment for the 2025 tax year as well, where taxpayers can expect their payments to increase by a certain percentage with increases in investment limits, AGI and others.

How can you claim Earned Income Tax Credit in 2025?

Taxpayers who want to claim the EITC in the upcoming tax season can file a claim with their tax return with their SSN and other relevant documents. Taxpayers must file Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR (for seniors) where you will find the EITC on the form.

US residents applying with an eligible child must include an EIC form with their 1040 tax form to notify the agency of the child and receive the child credit. Tax authorities have advised taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically, such as Free File, Direct File and others in order to receive their refunds early.

Note that the EITC claim will be processed after February 15, 2025 only because of the PATH Act’s agency-limiting obligations. Therefore, after February 27, 2025, you will receive your EITC refund via direct deposit.

EITC credits are beneficial to many taxpayers, so you should check to see if you qualify for them as you prepare for the 2025 tax season.