The Earned Income Tax Credit

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts more low-income families out of poverty than any other benefit program. Millions of Americans and their families who could claim the EITC don’t. The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance has produced a new brochure to educate people with low-incomes about the EITC and encourage them to file taxes so that they can qualify.

The EITC is a “refundable tax credit” for working, low-income individuals and families. Even those who don’t earn enough to owe income tax can get the EITC, but to get it, one must file a federal tax return. There is also a Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit- based on the amount received on the federal EITC (similarly, one must file a state tax return). And one might even get tax credits for the previous two years.

Download the brochure. There are also about 300 FREE tax assistance sites in Massachusetts.

Eligibility:

• You must have worked and earned income
• You must have a valid Social Security number
• You cannot be counted as a “child” by someone else
• There are more rules about age, citizenship, and non-earned/foreign income. Ask a free tax assistance representative at http://masscashback.ehs.state.ma.us.

Credit Amounts

One’s EITC check depends mainly on family size and 2009 earned income.

If your family has	And you earned less than	Then you can get up to
No “qualifying children”*	$13,440	$457
One qualifying child	$35,463	$3,043
Two or more qualifying children	$40,295	$5,028
Three or more qualifying children	$43,279	$5,657

Note: Alimony and child support payments do not count towards income.

*A “qualifying child” can be one’s...

• Biological or adopted child
• Stepchild
• Foster child
• Brother or sister
• Stepbrother or stepsister ...
• or the children of any of these people.

A “child” must

• be younger than the person claiming the child;
• not have filed a joint return other than to claim a refund; and
• under 19 unless they are a full-time student or permanently or totally disabled.

Will the EITC affect other public benefits?

In Massachusetts, getting the EITC and the state tax credit EIC will not affect eligibility for Medicaid, SSI, food benefits, low-income housing or TAFDC.

-From the brochure “File Your 2009 Tax. Get Cash Back. It’s That Easy.”, Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, EITC-B (Rev. 12/2009), 25-650-1209-05.

1/10