Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 2026 and 2027: Amounts, Income Limits and Who Qualifies
Figures checked November 11, 2026 against primary sources
The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a refundable federal credit for people who work and have low to moderate income. For the return most people file in early 2027 (tax year 2026), the credit is worth up to $8,231 with three or more qualifying children and up to $664 with none. For tax year 2027 (returns filed in 2028), the IRS has set the top credit at $8,496. Below are both years side by side, the income limits for your family size, the rules on who qualifies and an estimator.
EITC Amounts at a Glance
The maximum credit depends on how many qualifying children you have. You reach the maximum once your earned income hits the "earned income amount" in the first row.
| Qualifying children | Earned income amount, tax year 2026 (filed in 2027) | Maximum credit, tax year 2026 (filed in 2027) | Earned income amount, tax year 2027 (filed in 2028) | Maximum credit, tax year 2027 (filed in 2028) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | $8,680 | $664 | $8,960 | $685 |
| 1 | $13,020 | $4,427 | $13,450 | $4,573 |
| 2 | $18,290 | $7,316 | $18,880 | $7,552 |
| 3 or more | $18,290 | $8,231 | $18,880 | $8,496 |
Investment income limit: the credit is not allowed if your investment income is over $12,200 for tax year 2026 (filed in 2027) or over $12,600 for tax year 2027 (filed in 2028).
EITC Income Limits
The credit starts to shrink once your adjusted gross income (AGI), or your earned income if that is higher, passes the phase-out start. It reaches $0 at the "completed phase-out" amount, which is the income limit for your family size. Married couples filing jointly get higher limits.
Tax year 2026 (returns filed in 2027)
| Qualifying children | Phase-out starts, single, head of household, widow(er) | Income limit, single, head of household, widow(er) | Phase-out starts, married filing jointly | Income limit, married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | $10,860 | $19,540 | $18,140 | $26,820 |
| 1 | $23,890 | $51,593 | $31,160 | $58,863 |
| 2 | $23,890 | $58,629 | $31,160 | $65,899 |
| 3 or more | $23,890 | $62,974 | $31,160 | $70,244 |
Tax year 2027 (returns filed in 2028)
| Qualifying children | Phase-out starts, single, head of household, widow(er) | Income limit, single, head of household, widow(er) | Phase-out starts, married filing jointly | Income limit, married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | $11,210 | $20,164 | $18,730 | $27,684 |
| 1 | $24,660 | $53,277 | $32,170 | $60,787 |
| 2 | $24,660 | $60,519 | $32,170 | $68,029 |
| 3 or more | $24,660 | $65,002 | $32,170 | $72,512 |
The "single" columns also cover married people who file separately and meet the special rule for separated spouses (see Married Filing Separately). The IRS publishes dollar-by-dollar tables in the Form 1040 instructions; as of November 11, 2026, its EITC tables page listed tax years up to 2025 only.
EITC Estimator
Pick the tax year, your filing status and number of qualifying children, then enter your income. The result is an estimate; the EIC table in the Form 1040 instructions controls.
How the Credit Is Worked Out
The tax code (26 U.S.C. 32) builds the credit in three steps:
- Phase-in. Multiply your earned income, up to the earned income amount, by the credit percentage: 7.65% with no qualifying child, 34% with one, 40% with two and 45% with three or more.
- Plateau. Once earned income reaches the earned income amount, you get the maximum credit until income passes the phase-out start.
- Phase-out. Above the phase-out start, the credit drops by the phase-out percentage of every dollar over it: 7.65% with no qualifying child, 15.98% with one, and 21.06% with two or with three or more. The test uses AGI or earned income, whichever is greater. The credit cannot go below $0.
Worked example (hypothetical). A head of household with two qualifying children earns $35,000 in wages and has no other income, so AGI is also $35,000.
- Tax year 2026 (filed in 2027): maximum credit $7,316. Income is $11,110 over the $23,890 phase-out start. 21.06% of $11,110 is about $2,340, so the credit is about $4,976.
- Tax year 2027 (filed in 2028): maximum credit $7,552. Income is $10,340 over the $24,660 phase-out start. 21.06% of $10,340 is about $2,178, so the credit is about $5,374.
The IRS table works in $50 income bands and uses the middle of each band, so the figure on the actual return can differ from the formula by a few dollars, up to about $11 higher or lower (45% of the $25 between a band's edge and its middle, with three or more children). The estimator above uses the same band method and shows $4,971 for tax year 2026 and $5,369 for tax year 2027 in this example.
Who Qualifies
Everyone who claims the EITC has to meet these rules, with or without children:
- Earned income. You need income from work: wages, salary, tips or net earnings from self-employment. If you work for yourself, see our guide to self-employment tax.
- Income under the limit for your family size and filing status (tables above).
- Investment income of $12,200 or less for tax year 2026 (filed in 2027), or $12,600 or less for tax year 2027 (filed in 2028).
- A valid Social Security number for you, your spouse if filing jointly, and each child you claim, issued on or before the due date of the return (including extensions). An SSN issued only to apply for or receive a federally funded benefit, such as Medicaid, that does not authorize work does not count.
- U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. A nonresident alien can claim only when married filing jointly with a U.S. citizen or resident alien spouse and choosing to be treated as a U.S. resident.
- Filing status. Married people must file jointly, except under the separated-spouse rule below.
- No Form 2555. You cannot claim the EITC if you file Form 2555 to exclude foreign earned income.
EITC With No Qualifying Child
Workers without a qualifying child can still get a smaller credit (up to $664 for tax year 2026, filed in 2027; up to $685 for tax year 2027, filed in 2028) if they also meet these rules:
- Age: at least 25 but under 65 at the end of the year. On a joint return, at least one spouse must meet the age rule.
- Residency: you lived in the United States for more than half the year. For this rule the United States means the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. military bases; it does not include territories such as Guam, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.
- Not someone else's dependent: no one else can claim you as a qualifying child or dependent.
Qualifying Child Tests
To count toward the larger credit, a child must pass all of these tests:
- Age: under 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse on a joint return); or under 24, a full-time student for at least 5 months of the year and younger than you; or any age if permanently and totally disabled during the year.
- Relationship: your son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child or eligible foster child; your brother, sister, half-sibling or step-sibling; or a descendant of any of them, such as a grandchild, niece or nephew.
- Residency: the child lived with you in the same home in the United States for more than half the year.
- Joint return: the child cannot file a joint return for the year, unless it is only to get back tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Only one person can claim a given child. If two people could, IRS tiebreaker rules decide who gets to.
Married Filing Separately
A married person filing separately can claim the EITC only under the special rule for separated spouses. You need a qualifying child who lived with you for more than half the year, and one of these:
- you lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the year, or
- you were legally separated under your state's law, under a written separation agreement or a decree of separate maintenance, and did not live in the same household as your spouse at the end of the year.
If you qualify this way, use the "single" income limits in the tables above.
Why Your Refund Comes Later
By law (26 U.S.C. 6402(m)), the IRS cannot pay a refund on a return that claims the EITC or the additional child tax credit before the 15th day of the second month after the tax year ends. For a calendar-year return that is February 15. The IRS says the hold covers your entire refund, not just the part tied to the credit.
For the dates the IRS expects to pay these refunds this season, see our IRS refund schedule. To estimate the whole refund, including the EITC and the child tax credit, use the tax refund calculator.
New for Returns Filed in 2027: Schedule 3-A
The IRS says that beginning with tax year 2026 (returns filed in 2027), you must complete a new form, Schedule 3-A, Federal Public Benefit, if you claim the earned income tax credit. Check the IRS EITC page and the form instructions before you file.
How Many People Claim It
The IRS reports that, as of December 2025, about 24 million workers and families received about $70 billion in EITC for tax year 2024. The average credit nationwide was $2,894 for tax year 2024, up from $2,743 for tax year 2023 and about $2,541 for tax year 2022.
Not everyone who qualifies claims it. The IRS estimates the national participation rate at 80.8% for tax year 2022 (the latest year it lists), the same as for tax year 2021 and up from 76.3% for tax year 2020. If your income is low enough for the EITC, you may also be able to file for free: see IRS Free File and our list of the best free tax software.
Related: the child tax credit, 2026 tax brackets, 2027 tax brackets, the 2026 standard deduction, the average tax refund and the ACA subsidy cliff.
Sources & Methodology
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-35, section 3.06: tax year 2027 amounts and the $12,600 investment income limit.
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.06: tax year 2026 amounts and the $12,200 investment income limit.
- 26 U.S.C. 32: credit and phase-out percentages, the joint-return and separated-spouse rules; 26 U.S.C. 6402(m): the refund hold.
- IRS pages: Who qualifies for the EITC, Qualifying child rules, When to expect your refund, EITC tables.
- IRS EITC Central: statistics and participation rate by state.
Method notes. The Rev. Procs, IRS pages and statute text (26 U.S.C. 32 and 6402) were re-read on November 11, 2026. The worked example and the estimator are our arithmetic from the published amounts and the statutory percentages. The estimator follows the IRS table method ($50 bands, credit at the middle of each band) and can differ from the official table by a few dollars; the IRS had not published a tax year 2026 or 2027 EIC table when we checked. It does not test every eligibility rule.
This article is educational and is not tax advice. Wealthy Pot is not affiliated with the IRS. Figures were checked against IRS revenue procedures, IRS pages and the U.S. Code on 2026-11-11. Your actual credit is set by your filed return.
FAQ
Do I need children to get the EITC?
No. Workers with no qualifying child can claim a smaller credit (up to $664 for tax year 2026, filed in 2027) if they are at least 25 and under 65 at the end of the year, lived in the United States for more than half the year and are not someone else's dependent.
Can I get the EITC if I am 66?
Not the credit for workers with no qualifying child: that requires being under 65 at the end of the year (on a joint return, one spouse meeting the age rule is enough). The 25-to-64 age rule is part of the rules for claiming with no qualifying child; if you have a qualifying child, the qualifying child tests apply instead.
Can I claim the EITC if I am married filing separately?
Only under the separated-spouse rule: a qualifying child lived with you for more than half the year, and you either lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the year or were legally separated and not in the same household at year end.
What is the most I can get?
$8,231 for tax year 2026 (filed in 2027) and $8,496 for tax year 2027 (filed in 2028), with three or more qualifying children.
Why hasn't my EITC refund arrived in January?
The law bars the IRS from paying any refund on a return that claims the EITC before February 15 for a calendar-year return. The hold applies to the whole refund.
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"Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 2026 and 2027: Amounts, Income Limits and Who Qualifies." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/earned-income-tax-credit/
