The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is for people who work, but don't earn high incomes. Those who qualify could pay less federal tax or no tax-they could even get a tax refund.

The amount of the EITC varies depending on total earnings, other income and certain other considerations. Yet some people who are eligible for the EITC fail to claim it. Why? Because to get the EITC, they must file a tax return. Some workers earn so little that they legally don't have to file. By not filing, they're missing out on money they're entitled to receive, from a few dollars to as much as $3,816.

The credit is based on the amount of income earned and the number of qualifying children the worker has. A qualifying child can be a son or daughter, adopted child, grandchild, or stepchild who lives with the taxpayer in the United States for more than half the year and who meets certain age requirements. There are special rules for foster children. Workers without a qualifying child may also get a credit of up to $347.

To qualify, workers must have earned income from wages or self-employment. Their 1999 modified adjusted gross income (AGI) must be less than $30,580 if they had two or more qualifying children or less than $26,928 if they had only one qualifying child. A worker without a qualifying child must have a modified AGI of less than $10,200, be at least 25 and under 65, not be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return and must have lived in the United States for more than half the year.

Workers claiming the credit cannot have more than $2,350 in investment income, such as interest or dividends, and cannot be a qualifying child of someone else. Special rules apply to U.S. military personnel and to nonresident aliens.

Workers, their spouses (if filing jointly) and any qualifying children must have valid social security numbers (SSNs) issued by the Social Security Administration. If an SSN was obtained solely to receive federally funded benefits, such as food stamps, this SSN is not valid for EITC purposes and the social security card will state "not valid for employment." If workers (or their spouses if filing jointly) have an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), they cannot get the EITC. And for those workers whose qualifying child has an ITIN or an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), they cannot get the EITC on the basis of that child.

Certain workers may be able to get extra money added to their paychecks throughout the year with the Advance EITC. Details of the credit are on Form W-5, "Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate," which the employee must fill out and give to his/her employer.

While the IRS wants people who are eligible for the credit to claim it, they are also cautioning taxpayers who claim the credit to be certain they quality. For people whose EITC for 1997 or 1998 was denied or reduced by the Internal Revenue Service, to claim the credit for 1999, they may need to attach Form 8862, "Information to Claim Earned Income Credit after Disallowance," to their return.

Most people can use the EIC instructions in their tax forms package to see if they can claim the credit. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has details about the EITC and which forms or worksheets are required to claim it. To order a free copy of Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, or Publication 596SP, Credito por Ingreso del Trabajo, or other free IRS publications and forms, call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676. You may also download publications and forms from our site.

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