Publication 517
taxmap/pubs/p517-007.htm#en_us_publink100033646The earned income credit is a credit for certain people who work. If you qualify for it, the earned income credit reduces the tax you owe. Even if you do not owe tax, you can get a refund of the
credit.
You cannot take the credit for 2011 if your earned income (or adjusted gross income) is:
- $13,660 or more ($18,740 or more if married filing jointly) and you do not have a qualifying
child,
- $36,052 or more ($41,132 or more if married filing jointly) and you have one qualifying
child,
- $40,964 or more ($46,044 or more if married filing jointly) and you have two qualifying children,
or
- $43,998 or more ($49,078 if married filing jointly) and you have three or more qualifying
children.
taxmap/pubs/p517-007.htm#en_us_publink100033647Earned income includes your:
- Wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee compensation (even if these amounts are exempt from FICA or SECA),
and
- Net earnings from self-employment that are
not
exempt from SECA (you do not have an approved Form 4029 or 4361) with the
following adjustments.
- Subtract the amount you claimed (or should have claimed) on Form 1040, line 27, for the deductible part of your SE
tax.
- Add any amount from Schedule SE, line 4b and line 5a.
To figure your earned income credit, see the Form 1040 instructions for lines 64a and
64b.
 | If you are a minister and have an approved Form 4361, your earned income will still include wages and salaries earned as an employee, but it will
not
include amounts you received for nonemployee ministerial duties, such as fees
for performing marriages and baptisms, and honoraria for delivering speeches. |
taxmap/pubs/p517-007.htm#en_us_publink100033651For detailed rules on this credit, see Publication
596. To figure the amount of your credit, you can either fill out a worksheet or have the IRS compute the credit for you. You may need to complete Schedule EIC and attach it to your tax
return.