Earned Income Tax Credit:
Other EITC Issues
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2005 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
If both parents want to claim the earned income credit, who is entitled
to it if there was no marriage?
If the child is a qualifying child of both parents, they may choose which
one will claim the credit. If there are two qualifying children, each parent
may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children or one parent may
claim the credit with both children. If both actually claim the credit on
the basis of the same child or children, the parent who is entitled to the
credit is the parent with whom the child lived for the longest period of time
during the tax year, or the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI)
if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the
year.
Refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for full discussion
of the earned income credit rules.
Can I get the earned income credit?
You may be able to take this credit if your earned income does not exceed
a maximum dollar amount set by law. The maximum dollar amount is based on
your filing status and whether you have qualifying children or not. Other
rules apply. For details, refer to Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit,
or Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.
Can Form 1040EZ be used to claim the earned income credit?
You can use Form 1040EZ (PDF) when claiming
the earned income credit only if you do not have a qualifying child. However,
you must meet several requirements to use Form 1040EZ (PDF). If you do not meet all of them, you must use Form 1040A (PDF) or Form 1040 (PDF). For additional
information on the requirements, refer to Tax Topic 352, Which Form
- 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.
References:
- Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income
Tax Return
- Form 1040A (PDF), U.S. Individual Income
Tax Return
- Form 1040EZ (PDF), U.S. Individual Income
Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents
- Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ
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