1999 Tax Help Archives  

Pub. 17, Chapter 37 - Earned Income Credit

Do You Qualify for the Credit?

This is archived information that pertains only to the 1999 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

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To see if you can claim the EIC, you must first meet all of the rules explained in Part A, Rules for Everyone. Then you must meet the rules in Part B, Rules If you Have a Qualifying Child or Part C, Rules If You Do Not Have a Qualifying Child. There are two final rules you must meet in Part D, Figuring and Claiming the EIC. You qualify for the credit if you meet all the rules in each part that applies to you. For example:

  • If you have a qualifying child, the rules in Parts A, B, and D apply to you.
  • If you do not have a qualifying child, the rules in Parts A, C, and D apply to you.

EIC in a Nutshell

Do you have a qualifying child? Basically, a qualifying child is a child who:

  1. Is your son, daughter, adopted child, grandchild, stepchild, or eligible foster child, and
  2. Was (at the end of 1999) under age 19, under age 24 and a full-time student, or any age and permanently and totally disabled during the year, and
  3. Lived with you in the United States for more than half of 1999 (for all of 1999 if the child is your eligible foster child).

See Rule 7 for more detailed information.

Table 37-1. Earned Income Credit in a Nutshell. Use Table 37-1 as a guide to Parts A, B, C, and D. The table is a summary list of all the rules in each part. Each rule listed has a rule number. Use the rule number to find a more detailed discussion of that rule in this chapter.


If Improper Claim Made in Prior Year

You must file Form 8862 if your 1997 or 1998 EIC was reduced or disallowed for any reason other than a math or clerical error. But do not file Form 8862 if, after your EIC was reduced or disallowed in an earlier year, you filed Form 8862 (or other documents) and your EIC was then allowed. Also do not file Form 8862 or take the credit if it was determined that your error was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the EIC rules or fraud.

More information.
See Publication 596 for more detailed information about the disallowance period and Form 8862.

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