Earned Income Tax Credit > Other EITC Issues

Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page Right Arrow

Frequently Asked Tax Questions

Earned Income Tax Credit - Other EITC Issues

If both parents want to claim the earned income credit but were never married, who is entitled to claim the credit?
Can Form 1040EZ be used to claim the earned income credit?

Rev. date: 12/21/2012

If they otherwise meet all of the requirements to claim the earned income tax credit (EITC), unmarried parents with a qualifying child may choose which one will claim the credit.

If there are two qualifying children, each parent may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children.
One parent may claim the credit on the basis of both children.
If both parents claim the child as a qualifying child for the EITC, the IRS will apply rules and treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lives for the longer period of time in the tax year. If the child lives with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who has the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the tax year.
If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who has the highest AGI for the tax year.
If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who has the highest AGI, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the AGI of any of the child's parents.

Additional Information

Publication 596, Earned Income Credit

Rev. date: 12/21/2012

Earned Income

Earned Income Credit

Earned Income Tax Credit

Form 1040 or 1040A (Schedule EIC)

Information to Claim Earned Income Credit after Disallowance

Information to Claim Earned Income Credit after Disallowance (Spanish Version)

You can use Form 1040EZ (PDF) when claiming the earned income credit only if you do not have a qualifying child and your investment income is $3,200 or less (for 2012). Your investment income is the total amount of interest from line 2 of Form 1040EZ and any tax-exempt interest.

If you do not meet the requirements for filing Form 1040EZ, you must use Form 1040A (PDF) or Form 1040 (PDF), however, if your investment income is more than $3,200, you cannot claim the earned income credit.

Additional Information

Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ?

Previous Page | Table of Contents | Top of Page | Next Page Right Arrow

Frequently Asked Tax Questions

Earned Income Tax Credit - Other EITC Issues

If both parents want to claim the earned income credit but were never married, who is entitled to claim the credit?

Can Form 1040EZ be used to claim the earned income credit?