Earned Income Credit Worksheets

If you are a low- to middle-income wage earner or self-employed worker, you may be eligible for the Earned Income Credit (EIC). This is a refundable tax credit, so if your credit amount is higher than your tax bill, you can actually get the unused part of the credit as a payment from the government.

The 2009 income limits to receive an EIC vary, based on the number of children who lived with you and your marital status:

Single, Head of Household, Surviving Spouse, and Married Filing Separate
Number of Children	Maximum Credit Amount	Earned Income Amount	Threshold Phaseout Amount	Completed Phaseout Amount
1	$3,043	$8,950	$16,420	$35,463
2 or more	$5,028	$12,570	$16,420	$40,295
None	$457	$5,970	$7,470	$13,440

Married Filing Jointly
Number of Children	Maximum Credit Amount	Earned Income Amount	Threshold Phaseout Amount	Completed Phaseout Amount
1	$3,043	$8,950	$19,540	$38,583
2 or more	$5,028	$12,570	$19,540	$43,415
None	$457	$5,970	$10,590	$16,560

The EIC is based on a percentage of your income, but it is phased out as your income rises. To find out the actual amount of your EIC, you must complete the EIC worksheets provided below.

earned income credit worksheets

In order to use the worksheets, you will also need to use the EIC tables:

earned income credit table

The files are in Adobe portable document format (PDF), which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is available, without charge, at the Adobe website.

For more information, see our discussion of how the EIC is computed.