What's New(p2)

The maximum amount of income you can earn and still get the credit has increased. You may be able to take the credit if:

• You have more than one qualifying child and you earned less than $38,646 ($41,646 if married filing jointly),
• You have one qualifying child and you earned less than $33,995 ($36,995 if married filing jointly), or
• You do not have a qualifying child and you earned less than $12,880 ($15,880 if married filing jointly).

Your adjusted gross income also must be less than the amount in the above list that applies to you. For details, see Rules 1 and 15.

If your main home was in a Midwestern disaster area when the disaster occurred and your 2008 earned income is less than your 2007 earned income, you may be able to elect to use your 2007 earned income to figure your 2008 earned income credit. See Publication 4492-B, Information for Affected Taxpayers in the Midwestern Disaster Areas, for more information.

The maximum amount of investment income you can have and still get the credit has increased to $2,950. See Rule 6.