- 1). Check to see if you meet the general qualifications to claim EITC. To qualify to claim EITC, you must have earned income, you must have limited investment income (less than $3,100 in 2009), you must not have foreign income, you must be a U.S citizen or resident all year, you cannot file "Married Filing Separate," you must have a valid Social Security number and you must have not earned more than the gross income limitations for that tax year.
- 2). Check to see if you have a qualified child or meet the requirements without having a qualified child. You must either have at least one qualified child or meet the following requirements: You must be over 25 but under 65; you cannot be a dependent of another taxpayer; you cannot be a qualified child of another taxpayer; and you must have lived in the U.S for at least half of the year.
To have a qualified child, your child cannot be a qualified child by another person; your child cannot be used by more than one person to claim EITC; and your child must meet a age test, joint return test, relationship test and a residency test. - 3). Utilize the EITC table. Once you have qualified, you will need to refer to the EITC table. You can find the EITC table in the back of the IRS's Publication 9 or on irs.gov. Publication 9 can be found at your library.
You will need to know your earned income for the year, your filing status and how many qualified children you have, if any. Using the table with this information you will be able to find the amount of EITC credit you can claim for the year. - 4). Fill out the schedule EIC completely. The schedule EIC can also be found at your local library. Attach the schedule EIC to your 1040 tax form and write/type in the EITC credit to the appropriate 1040 line.
- 5). Complete your individual taxes and submit to the IRS before the April 15 deadline.
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