2016 Earned Income Tax Credit
For 2016, the Earned Income Tax Credit is $3,373 (Maximum credit, one child), $5,572 (Maximum credit, two children), $6,269 (Maximum credit, three or more children) and 5 more figures below.
| Item | One child | Two children | Three or more children | Childless filers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum credit | $3,373 | $5,572 | $6,269 | $506 |
| Earned income amount | $9,920 | $13,930 | $13,930 | $6,610 |
Effective 2016-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Who it applies to
Taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit under Internal Revenue Code § 32 for taxable years beginning in 2016.
What changed this year, and why
The Earned Income Tax Credit amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. For 2016, the maximum credit amounts and the earned income levels at which those maximums are reached are set by Revenue Procedure 2015-53.
Common questions
- What is the maximum EITC for 2016?
- The maximum credit for 2016 is $3,373 for filers with one qualifying child, $5,572 for two qualifying children, $6,269 for three or more qualifying children, and $506 for filers with no qualifying children.
- What earned income level produces the maximum credit?
- The earned income amount - the level at which the maximum credit is reached - is $9,920 for one qualifying child, $13,930 for two qualifying children, $13,930 for three or more qualifying children, and $6,610 for no qualifying children.
The income at which the credit stops growing
The earned income amount is the threshold where your credit reaches its maximum value and stops growing. For 2016, once your earned income hits $9,920 with one child, $13,930 with two children, $13,930 with three or more children, or $6,610 if you have no qualifying children, you receive the full credit of $3,373, $5,572, $6,269, or $506 respectively. Below these thresholds, your credit increases as your earnings increase. At or above these amounts, additional earned income does not increase your credit further - instead, your credit remains at the maximum until your income reaches the phaseout range, where it begins to decrease. This threshold marks the transition point between the credit's growth phase and its maximum benefit phase.
The "earned income amount" is the amount of earned income at or above which the maximum amount of the earned income credit is allowed.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
Where the credit starts shrinking, and which income counts
The threshold phaseout amount marks where your credit begins shrinking. It is based on the higher of your adjusted gross income or earned income. Once your income exceeds this threshold, the credit starts to decrease. For 2016, single filers, surviving spouses, and heads of household all share the same threshold for one, two, and three or more children. Childless filers have a lower threshold. Married couples filing jointly receive higher thresholds across all categories. Between the threshold and the completed phaseout amount, your credit gradually reduces until it reaches zero. The exact threshold amounts depend on your filing status and number of qualifying children, and are published in the IRS tables for the earned income credit.
The "threshold phaseout amount" is the amount of adjusted gross income (or, if greater, earned income) above which the maximum amount of the credit begins to phase out.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
The income at which the credit reaches zero
The completed phaseout amount is where your credit reaches zero. It is based on the higher of your adjusted gross income or earned income. Once your income hits or exceeds this amount, you receive no credit at all. For 2016, single filers, surviving spouses, and heads of household share the same completed phaseout for one, two, and three or more children, with childless filers reaching zero at a lower income level. Married couples filing jointly have higher completed phaseout amounts across all categories. Your credit phases out gradually between the threshold phaseout amount and the completed phaseout amount. The exact amounts depend on your filing status and number of qualifying children, and are published in the IRS tables.
The "completed phaseout amount" is the amount of adjusted gross income (or, if greater, earned income) at or above which no credit is allowed.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
Married filing jointly gets a higher phaseout range
Married taxpayers who file jointly receive higher phaseout thresholds than those who file as single, surviving spouse, or head of household. The law provides an additional increase to both the threshold phaseout amount and the completed phaseout amount for joint filers, and this increase is adjusted each year for inflation. For 2016, this means that a married couple filing jointly can earn more income before their earned income credit begins to shrink and before it reaches zero entirely, compared to a single filer with the same number of qualifying children. This higher range recognizes that joint filers often support the same household on two incomes. The specific joint-return phaseout amounts differ by the number of qualifying children: one, two, three or more, or none, and are listed in the IRS tables alongside the single-filer amounts.
The threshold phaseout amounts and the completed phaseout amounts shown in the table below for married taxpayers filing a joint return include the increase provided in § 32(b)(3)(B)(i), as adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning in 2016.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
Too much investment income disqualifies you outright
Even if you qualify based on your earned income and number of children, you can be barred from the earned income credit entirely if your investment income is too high. For 2016, if the total of certain investment income sources, such as interest, dividends, capital gains, and rental income, exceeds $3,400, you cannot claim the credit at all regardless of how much you earned from work. This is a hard cutoff, not a gradual phaseout. The purpose is to target the credit toward taxpayers whose resources come primarily from wages and self-employment rather than from investments. You must check both your earned income eligibility and your investment income total before claiming the credit.
For taxable years beginning in 2016, the earned income tax credit is not allowed under § 32(i)(1) if the aggregate amount of certain investment income exceeds $3,400.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
Why your credit is read off a table, not multiplied out
Rather than requiring taxpayers to calculate their credit using a formula, the IRS publishes precomputed tables in the instructions for the Form 1040 series. These tables show the exact credit amount for each type of taxpayer based on filing status, number of qualifying children, and income level. The reason tables are used is that the credit calculation involves a multi-step formula: a percentage applied to earned income up to the earned income amount, then a phaseout based on the higher of adjusted gross income or earned income above the threshold phaseout amount. Because the credit must be rounded and the phaseout rates interact with multiple income thresholds, the tables eliminate the need for manual calculation and reduce errors. Taxpayers simply look up their income range and filing status to find their credit amount.
The instructions for the Form 1040 series provide tables showing the amount of the earned income credit for each type of taxpayer.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2015-53 (IRS)
- Maximum credit, one child
Number of Qualifying Children Item One Two Three or More None Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930 $6,610 Maximum Amount of Credit $3,373 $5,572 $6,269 $506
- Maximum credit, two children
Number of Qualifying Children Item One Two Three or More None Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930 $6,610 Maximum Amount of Credit $3,373 $5,572 $6,269 $506
- Maximum credit, three or more children
Number of Qualifying Children Item One Two Three or More None Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930 $6,610 Maximum Amount of Credit $3,373 $5,572 $6,269 $506
- Maximum credit, childless filers
Number of Qualifying Children Item One Two Three or More None Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930 $6,610 Maximum Amount of Credit $3,373 $5,572 $6,269 $506
- Earned income amount, one child
Earned Income Amount $9,920
- Earned income amount, two children
Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930
- Earned income amount, three or more children
Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930
- Earned income amount, childless filers
Earned Income Amount $9,920 $13,930 $13,930 $6,610