10. Required Notice to Employees About the Earned Income Credit (EIC)(p20)

You must notify employees who have no federal income tax withheld that they may be able to claim a tax refund because of the EIC. Although you do not have to notify employees who claim exemption from withholding on Form W-4 about the EIC, you are encouraged to notify any employees whose wages for 2010 were less than $43,352 ($48,362 if married filing jointly) that they may be eligible to claim the credit for 2010. This is because eligible employees may get a refund of the amount of EIC that is more than the tax they owe.

You will meet this notification requirement if you issue the employee Form W-2 with the EIC notice on the back of Copy B, or a substitute Form W-2 with the same statement. You will also meet the requirement by providing Notice 797, Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC), or your own statement that contains the same wording.

If a substitute for Form W-2 is given to the employee on time but does not have the required statement, you must notify the employee within 1 week of the date the substitute for Form W-2 is given. If Form W-2 is required but is not given on time, you must give the employee Notice 797 or your written statement by the date Form W-2 is required to be given. If Form W-2 is not required, you must notify the employee by February 7, 2011.