Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Publication 596
Cat. No. 15173A
Earned Income
Credit (EIC)
For use in preparing
2016 Returns
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Contents
What's New for 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 1. Rules for Everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Rule 1—Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Limits . . . . 4
Rule 2—You Must Have a Valid Social
Security Number (SSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Rule 3—Your Filing Status Cannot Be
Married Filing Separately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rule 4—You Must Be a U.S. Citizen or
Resident Alien All Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rule 5—You Cannot File Form 2555 or Form
2555-EZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rule 6—Your Investment Income Must Be
$3,400 or Less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rule 7—You Must Have Earned Income . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2. Rules If You Have a Qualifying
Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rule 8—Your Child Must Meet the
Relationship, Age, Residency, and Joint
Return Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rule 9—Your Qualifying Child Cannot Be
Used by More Than One Person To Claim
the EIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Rule 10—You Cannot Be a Qualifying Child
of Another Taxpayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3. Rules If You Do Not Have a
Qualifying Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Rule 11—You Must Be at Least Age 25 but
Under Age 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Rule 12—You Cannot Be the Dependent of
Another Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Rule 13—You Cannot Be a Qualifying Child
of Another Taxpayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Rule 14—You Must Have Lived in the United
States More Than Half of the Year . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 4. Figuring and Claiming the EIC . . . . . 18
Rule 15—Earned Income Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
IRS Will Figure the EIC for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
How To Figure the EIC Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 5. Disallowance of the EIC . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 6. Detailed Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 7. How To Get Tax Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
EIC Eligibility Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2016 EIC Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Dec 21, 2016
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to
Pub. 596, such as legislation enacted after it was
published, go to www.irs.gov/pub596.
What is the EIC?
The earned income credit (EIC) is a tax credit for certain
people who work and have earned income under
$53,505. A tax credit usually means more money in your
pocket. It reduces the amount of tax you owe. The EIC
may also give you a refund.
Can I Claim the EIC?
To claim the EIC, you must meet certain rules. These
rules are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Earned Income Credit in a Nutshell
First, you must meet all the rules in this column. Second, you must meet all the rules in one of
these columns, whichever applies.
Third, you must meet
the rule in this column.
Chapter 1.
Rules for Everyone
Chapter 2.
Rules If You Have a
Qualifying Child
Chapter 3.
Rules If You Do Not
Have a Qualifying Child
Chapter 4.
Figuring and Claiming
the EIC
1. Your adjusted gross
income (AGI) must be less
than:
• $47,955 ($53,505 for
married filing jointly) if you
have three or more
qualifying children,
• $44,648 ($50,198 for
married filing jointly) if you
have two qualifying
children,
• $39,296 ($44,846 for
married filing jointly) if you
have one qualifying child,
or
• $14,880 ($20,430 for
married filing jointly) if you
do not have a qualifying
child.
2. You must have a valid
social security number by
the due date of your 2016
return (including
extensions).
3.Your filing status cannot
be Married filing
separately.
4. You must be a U.S.
citizen or resident alien all
year.
5. You cannot file Form
2555 or Form 2555-EZ
(relating to foreign earned
income).
6. Your investment
income must be $3,400 or
less.
7.You must have earned
income.
8. Your child must meet
the relationship, age,
residency, and joint return
tests.
9. Your qualifying child
cannot be used by more
than one person to claim
the EIC.
10. You cannot be a
qualifying child of another
person.
11. You must be at least
age 25 but under age 65.
12. You cannot be the
dependent of another
person.
13. You cannot be a
qualifying child of another
person.
14. You must have lived
in the United States more
than half of the year.
15. Your earned income
must be less than:
• $47,955 ($53,505 for
married filing jointly) if you
have three or more
qualifying children,
• $44,648 ($50,198 for
married filing jointly) if you
have two qualifying
children,
• $39,296 ($44,846 for
married filing jointly) if you
have one qualifying child,
or
• $14,880 ($20,430 for
married filing jointly) if you
do not have a qualifying
child.
Do I Need This Publication?
Certain people who file Form 1040 must use Worksheet 1
in this publication, instead of Step 2 in their Form 1040
instructions, when they are checking whether they can
take the EIC. You are one of those people if any of the
following statements are true for 2016.
You are filing Schedule E (Form 1040).
You are reporting income from the rental of personal
property not used in a trade or business.
You are reporting income on Form 1040, line 21, from
Form 8814 (relating to election to report child's
interest and dividends).
You have income or loss from a passive activity.
You are reporting an amount on Form 1040, line 13,
that includes an amount from Form 4797.
If none of the statements above apply to you, your tax
form instructions may have all the information you need to
find out if you can claim the EIC and to figure your EIC.
You may not need this publication. But you can read it to
find out whether you can take the EIC and to learn more
about the EIC.
Page 2 Publication 596 (2016)
Do I Have To Have a Child To
Qualify for the EIC?
No, you can qualify for the EIC without a qualifying child if
you are at least age 25 but under age 65 and your earned
income is less than $14,880 ($20,430 if married filing
jointly). See chapter 3.
How Do I Figure the Amount of
EIC?
If you can claim the EIC, you can either have the IRS
figure your credit, or you can figure it yourself. To figure it
yourself, you can complete a worksheet in the instructions
for the form you file. To find out how to have the IRS figure
it for you, see chapter 4.
How Can I Quickly Locate
Specific Information?
You can use the index to look up specific information. In
most cases, index entries will point you to headings,
tables, or a worksheet.
Is There Help Online?
Yes. You can use the EITC Assistant at www.irs.gov/eitc
to find out if you may be eligible for the credit. The EITC
Assistant is available in English and Spanish.
What's New for 2016
Earned income amount. 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 three or more qualifying children and you
earned less than $47,955 ($53,505 if married filing
jointly),
You have two qualifying children and you earned less
than $44,648 ($50,198 if married filing jointly),
You have one qualifying child and you earned less
than $39,296 ($44,846 if married filing jointly), or
You don't have a qualifying child and you earned less
than $14,880 ($20,430 if married filing jointly).
Your adjusted gross income also must be less than the
amount just listed that applies to you. For details, see
Rules 1 and 15.
Investment income amount. The maximum amount
of investment income you can have and still get the credit
is $3,400. See Rule 6—Your Investment Income Must Be
$3,400 or Less.
Reminders
Valid SSN required by due date of return. If you didn't
have a social security number (SSN) by the due date of
your 2016 return (including extensions), you can't claim
the EIC on either your original or an amended 2016 return,
even if you later get an SSN. Also, if a child didn't have an
SSN by the due date of your return (including extensions),
you can't count that child as a qualifying child in figuring
the EIC on either your original or an amended 2016 return,
even if that child later gets an SSN.
Increased EIC on certain joint returns. A married per-
son filing a joint return may get more EIC than someone
with the same income but a different filing status. As a re-
sult, the EIC table has different columns for married per-
sons filing jointly than for everyone else. When you look
up your EIC in the EIC Table, be sure to use the correct
column for your filing status and the number of children
you have.
Earned income credit has no effect on certain wel
fare benefits. Any refund you receive because of the EIC
cannot be counted as income when determining whether
you or anyone else is eligible for benefits or assistance, or
how much you or anyone else can receive, under any fed-
eral program or under any state or local program financed
in whole or in part with federal funds. These programs in-
clude the following.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Medicaid.
Supplemental security income (SSI).
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food
stamps).
Low-income housing.
In addition, when determining eligibility, the refund can-
not be counted as a resource for at least 12 months after
you receive it. Check with your local benefit coordinator to
find out if your refund will affect your benefits.
Don't overlook your state credit. If you can claim the
EIC on your federal income tax return, you may be able to
take a similar credit on your state or local income tax re-
turn. For a list of states that offer a state EIC, go to
www.irs.gov/eitc.
EIC questioned by IRS. The IRS may ask you to provide
documents to prove you are entitled to claim the EIC. We
will tell you what documents to send us. These may in-
clude: birth certificates, school records, etc. The process
of establishing your eligibility will delay your refund.
Spanish version of Publication 596. Publicación
596SP, Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo, is a Spanish
translation of Pub. 596. Go to www.irs.gov/pub596sp. Or
see Ordering forms and publications or How To Get Tax
Help, later, to find out how to order this and other IRS
forms and publications.
Publication 596 (2016) Page 3
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Reve-
nue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing
children selected by the Center may appear in this publi-
cation on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can
help bring these children home by looking at the photo-
graphs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if
you recognize a child.
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Tax questions. If you have a tax question not answered
by this publication, check IRS.gov and How To Get Tax
Help at the end of this publication.
1.
Rules for Everyone
This chapter discusses Rules 1 through 7. You must meet
all seven rules to qualify for the earned income credit. If
you don't meet all seven rules, you cannot get the credit
and you don't need to read the rest of the publication.
If you meet all seven rules in this chapter, then read either
chapter 2 or chapter 3 (whichever applies) for more rules
you must meet.
Rule 1—Adjusted Gross
Income (AGI) Limits
Your adjusted gross income (AGI) must be less than:
$47,955 ($53,505 for married filing jointly) if you have
three or more qualifying children,
$44,648 ($50,198 for married filing jointly) if you have
two qualifying children,
$39,296 ($44,846 for married filing jointly) if you have
one qualifying child, or
$14,880 ($20,430 for married filing jointly) if you don't
have a qualifying child.
Adjusted gross income (AGI). AGI is the amount on
line 4 of Form 1040EZ, line 22 of Form 1040A, or line 38
of Form 1040.
If your AGI is equal to or more than the applicable limit
listed above, you cannot claim the EIC. You don't need to
read the rest of this publication.
Example—AGI is more than limit. Your AGI is
$39,550, you are single, and you have one qualifying
child. You cannot claim the EIC because your AGI isn't
less than $39,296. However, if your filing status was mar-
ried filing jointly, you might be able to claim the EIC be-
cause your AGI is less than $44,846.
Community property. If you are married, but qualify to
file as head of household under special rules for married
taxpayers living apart (see Rule 3), and live in a state that
has community property laws, your AGI includes that por-
tion of both your and your spouse's wages that you are re-
quired to include in gross income. This is different from
the community property rules that apply under Rule 7.
Rule 2—You Must Have a Valid
Social Security Number (SSN)
To claim the EIC, you (and your spouse, if filing a joint re-
turn) must have a valid SSN issued by the Social Security
Administration (SSA) by the due date of your 2016 return
(including extensions). Any qualifying child listed on
Schedule EIC also must have a valid SSN by the due date
of your 2016 return (including extensions). (See Rule 8 if
you have a qualifying child.)
If your social security card (or your spouse's, if filing a
joint return) says “Not valid for employment” and your
SSN was issued so that you (or your spouse) could get a
federally funded benefit, you cannot get the EIC. An ex-
ample of a federally funded benefit is Medicaid. If you
have a card with the legend “Not valid for employment”
and your immigration status has changed so that you are
now a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, ask the SSA for
a new social security card without the legend.
Page 4 Chapter 1 Rules for Everyone
U.S. citizen. If you were a U.S. citizen when you re-
ceived your SSN, you have a valid SSN.
Valid for work only with INS authorization or DHS
authorization. If your social security card reads “Valid
for work only with INS authorization” or “Valid for work
only with DHS authorization,” you have a valid SSN, but
only if that authorization is still valid.
SSN missing or incorrect. If an SSN for you or your
spouse is missing from your tax return or is incorrect, you
may not get the EIC.
If an SSN for you or your spouse is missing from your
return because either you or your spouse didn't have a
valid SSN by the due date of your 2016 return (including
extensions) and you later get a valid SSN, you cannot file
an amended return to claim the EIC.
Other taxpayer identification number. You cannot get
the EIC if, instead of an SSN, you (or your spouse, if filing
a joint return) have an individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN). ITINs are issued by the Internal Revenue
Service to noncitizens who cannot get an SSN.
No SSN. If you don't have a valid SSN by the due date of
your 2016 return (including extensions), put “No” next to
line 66a (Form 1040), line 42a (Form 1040A), or line 8a
(Form 1040EZ). You cannot claim the EIC on either your
original or an amended 2016 return.
Getting an SSN. If you (or your spouse, if filing a joint
return) don't have an SSN, you can apply for one by filing
Form SS-5 with the SSA. You can get Form SS-5 online at
www.socialsecurity.gov, from your local SSA office, or by
calling the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.
Filing deadline approaching and still no SSN. If
the filing deadline is approaching and you still don't have
an SSN, you can request an automatic 6-month extension
of time to file your return. You can get this extension by fil-
ing Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of
Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. For more
information, see the instructions for Form 4868. Instead of
filing Form 4868, you can apply for an automatic exten-
sion by making an electronic payment by the due date of
your return.
Rule 3—Your Filing Status
Cannot Be “Married Filing
Separately”
If you are married, you usually must file a joint return to
claim the EIC. Your filing status cannot be “Married filing
separately.”
Spouse did not live with you. If you are married and
your spouse did not live in your home at any time during
the last 6 months of the year, you may be able to file as
head of household, instead of married filing separately. In
that case, you may be able to claim the EIC. For detailed
information about filing as head of household, see Pub.
501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Informa-
tion.
Rule 4—You Must Be a U.S.
Citizen or Resident Alien All
Year
If you (or your spouse, if married) were a nonresident alien
for any part of the year, you cannot claim the earned in-
come credit unless your filing status is married filing
jointly. You can use that filing status only if one spouse is
a U.S. citizen or resident alien and you choose to treat the
nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. If you make this
choice, you and your spouse are taxed on your worldwide
income. If you need more information on making this
choice, get Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens. If you (or
your spouse, if married) were a nonresident alien for any
part of the year and your filing status isn't married filing
jointly, enter “No” on the dotted line next to line 66a (Form
1040) or in the space to the left of line 42a (Form 1040A).
Rule 5—You Cannot File Form
2555 or Form 2555EZ
You cannot claim the earned income credit if you file Form
2555, Foreign Earned Income, or Form 2555-EZ, Foreign
Earned Income Exclusion. You file these forms to exclude
income earned in foreign countries from your gross in-
come, or to deduct or exclude a foreign housing amount.
U.S. possessions aren't foreign countries. See Pub. 54,
Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad,
for more detailed information.
Rule 6—Your Investment
Income Must Be $3,400 or Less
You cannot claim the earned income credit unless your in-
vestment income is $3,400 or less. If your investment in-
come is more than $3,400, you cannot claim the credit.
Form 1040EZ. If you file Form 1040EZ, your investment
income is the total of the amount on line 2 and the amount
of any tax-exempt interest you wrote to the right of the
words “Form 1040EZ” on line 2.
Form 1040A. If you file Form 1040A, your investment in-
come is the total of the amounts on lines 8a (taxable inter-
est), 8b (tax-exempt interest), 9a (ordinary dividends), and
10 (capital gain distributions) on that form.
Form 1040. If you file Form 1040, use Worksheet 1 in
this chapter to figure your investment income.
Chapter 1 Rules for Everyone Page 5
Worksheet 1. Investment Income If You Are Filing Form
1040 Keep for Your Records
Use this worksheet to figure investment income for the earned income credit when you file Form 1040.
Interest and Dividends
1. Enter any amount from Form 1040, line 8a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter any amount from Form 1040, line 8b, plus any amount on Form 8814, line 1b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Enter any amount from Form 1040, line 9a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 21, that is from Form 8814 if you are filing that form to report
your child's interest and dividend income on your return. (If your child received an Alaska Permanent
Fund dividend, use Worksheet 2 in this chapter to figure the amount to enter on this line.) . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
Capital Gain Net Income
5. Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 13. If the amount on that line is a loss,
enter -0- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter any gain from Form 4797, Sales of Business Property, line 7. If the
amount on that line is a loss, enter -0-. (But, if you completed lines 8 and 9 of
Form 4797, enter the amount from line 9 instead.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Subtract line 6 of this worksheet from line 5 of this worksheet. (If the result is less than zero,
enter -0-.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
Royalties and Rental Income From Personal Property
8. Enter any royalty income from Schedule E, line 23b, plus any income from the
rental of personal property shown on Form 1040, line 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Enter any expenses from Schedule E, line 20, related to royalty income, plus
any expenses from the rental of personal property deducted on Form 1040,
line 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Subtract the amount on line 9 of this worksheet from the amount on line 8. (If the result is less than
zero, enter -0-.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
Passive Activities
11. Enter the total of any net income from passive activities (such as income
included on Schedule E, line 26, 29a (col. (g)), 34a (col. (d)), or 40; or an
ordinary gain identified as "FPA" on Form 4797, line 10). (See instructions
below for lines 11 and 12.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.
12. Enter the total of any losses from passive activities (such as losses included
on Schedule E, line 26, 29b (col. (f)), 34b (col. (c)), or 40; or an ordinary loss
identified as "PAL" on Form 4797, line 10). (See instructions below for lines
11 and 12.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.
13. Combine the amounts on lines 11 and 12 of this worksheet. (If the result is less than zero,
enter -0-.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.
14. Add the amounts on lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, and 13. Enter the total. This is your
investment income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.
15. Is the amount on line 14 more than $3,400?
? Yes. You cannot take the credit.
? No. Go to Step 3 of the Form 1040 instructions for lines 66a and 66b to find out if you can take the
credit (unless you are using this publication to find out if you can take the credit; in that case, go to Rule
7, next).
Instructions for lines 11 and 12. In figuring the amount to enter on lines 11 and 12, do not take into account any royalty income (or loss)
included on line 26 of Schedule E or any income (or loss) included in your earned income or on line 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, or 10 of this worksheet. To
find out if the income on line 26 or line 40 of Schedule E is from a passive activity, see the Schedule E instructions. If any of the rental real
estate income (or loss) included on Schedule E, line 26, is not from a passive activity, print “NPA” and the amount of that income (or loss)
on the dotted line next to line 26.
Page 6 Chapter 1 Rules for Everyone
Worksheet 2. Worksheet for Line 4 of Worksheet 1 Keep for Your Records
Complete this worksheet only if Form 8814 includes an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend.
Note. Fill out a separate Worksheet 2 for each Form 8814.
1. Enter the amount from Form 8814, line 2a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.
2. Enter the amount from Form 8814, line 2b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.
4. Enter the amount from Form 8814, line 1a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.
5. Add lines 3 and 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
6. Enter the amount of the child's Alaska Permanent Fund dividend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.
7. Divide line 6 by line 5. Enter the result as a decimal (rounded to at least three places) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.
8. Enter the amount from Form 8814, line 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.
9. Multiply line 7 by line 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.
10. Subtract line 9 from line 8. Enter the result on line 4 of Worksheet 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.
(If filing more than one Form 8814, enter on line 4 of Worksheet 1 the total of the amounts on line 10 of all
Worksheets 2.)
Example—Completing Worksheet 2. Your
10-year-old child has taxable interest income of $400, an
Alaska Permanent Fund dividend of $1,000, and ordinary
dividends of $1,100, of which $500 are qualified divi-
dends. You choose to report this income on your return.
You enter $400 on line 1a of Form 8814, $2,100 ($1,000 +
$1,100) on line 2a, and $500 on line 2b. After completing
lines 4 through 11, you enter $320 on line 12 of Form
8814 and line 21 of Form 1040. On Worksheet 2, you en-
ter $2,100 on line 1, $500 on line 2, $1,600 on line 3, $400
on line 4, $2,000 on line 5, $1,000 on line 6, 0.500 on
line 7, $320 on line 8, $160 on line 9, and $160 on line 10.
You then enter $160 on line 4 of Worksheet 1.
Rule 7—You Must Have Earned
Income
This credit is called the “earned income” credit because,
to qualify, you must work and have earned income. If you
are married and file a joint return, you meet this rule if at
least one spouse works and has earned income. If you are
an employee, earned income includes all the taxable in-
come you get from your employer.
Rule 15 has information that will help you figure the
amount of your earned income. If you are self-employed
or a statutory employee, you will figure your earned in-
come on EIC Worksheet B in the Form 1040 instructions.
Earned Income
Earned income includes all of the following types of in-
come.
1. Wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee
pay. Employee pay is earned income only if it is taxa-
ble. Nontaxable employee pay, such as certain de-
pendent care benefits and adoption benefits, isn't
earned income. But there is an exception for nontaxa-
ble combat pay, which you can choose to include in
earned income, as explained later in this chapter.
2. Net earnings from self-employment.
3. Gross income received as a statutory employee.
Wages, salaries, and tips. Wages, salaries, and tips
you receive for working are reported to you on Form W-2,
in box 1. You should report these on line 1 (Form 1040EZ)
or line 7 (Forms 1040A and 1040).
Nontaxable combat pay election. You can elect to in-
clude your nontaxable combat pay in earned income for
the earned income credit. The amount of your nontaxable
combat pay should be shown on your Form W-2, in
box 12, with code Q. Electing to include nontaxable com-
bat pay in earned income may increase or decrease your
EIC. For details, see Nontaxable combat pay in chapter 4.
Net earnings from selfemployment. You may have
net earnings from self-employment if:
You own your own business, or
You are a minister or member of a religious order.
Minister's housing. The rental value of a home or a
housing allowance provided to a minister as part of the
minister's pay generally isn't subject to income tax but is
included in net earnings from self-employment. For that
reason, it is included in earned income for the EIC (except
in the cases described in Approved Form 4361 or Form
4029 below).
Statutory employee. You are a statutory employee if
you receive a Form W-2 on which the “Statutory em-
ployee” box (box 13) is checked. You report your income
and expenses as a statutory employee on Schedule C or
C-EZ (Form 1040).
Strike benefits. Strike benefits paid by a union to its
members are earned income.
Chapter 1 Rules for Everyone Page 7
Approved Form 4361 or Form 4029
This section is for persons who have an approved:
Form 4361, Application for Exemption From Self-Em-
ployment Tax for Use by Ministers, Members of Reli-
gious Orders and Christian Science Practitioners, or
Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social
Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits.
Each approved form exempts certain income from so-
cial security taxes. Each form is discussed here in terms
of what is or isn't earned income for the EIC.
Form 4361. Whether or not you have an approved Form
4361, amounts you received for performing ministerial du-
ties as an employee count as earned income. This in-
cludes wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee
compensation.
If you have an approved Form 4361, a nontaxable
housing allowance or the nontaxable rental value of a
home isn't earned income. Also, amounts you received for
performing ministerial duties, but not as an employee,
don't count as earned income. Examples include fees for
performing marriages and honoraria for delivering
speeches.
Form 4029. Whether or not you have an approved Form
4029, all wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable em-
ployee compensation count as earned income. However,
amounts you received as a self-employed individual don't
count as earned income. Also, in figuring earned income,
don't subtract losses on Schedule C, C-EZ, or F from wa-
ges on line 7 of Form 1040.
Disability Benefits
If you retired on disability, taxable benefits you receive un-
der your employer's disability retirement plan are consid-
ered earned income until you reach minimum retirement
age. Minimum retirement age generally is the earliest age
at which you could have received a pension or annuity if
you were not disabled. You must report your taxable disa-
bility payments on line 7 of either Form 1040 or Form
1040A until you reach minimum retirement age.
Beginning on the day after you reach minimum retire-
ment age, payments you receive are taxable as a pension
and aren't considered earned income. Report taxable
pension payments on Form 1040, lines 16a and 16b, or
Form 1040A, lines 12a and 12b.
Disability insurance payments. Payments you re-
ceived from a disability insurance policy that you paid the
premiums for aren't earned income. It doesn't matter
whether you have reached minimum retirement age. If this
policy is through your employer, the amount may be
shown in box 12 of your Form W-2 with code J.
Income That Is Not Earned Income
Examples of items that aren't earned income include inter-
est and dividends, pensions and annuities, social security
and railroad retirement benefits (including disability bene-
fits), alimony and child support, welfare benefits, workers'
compensation benefits, unemployment compensation (in-
surance), nontaxable foster care payments, and veterans'
benefits, including VA rehabilitation payments. Do not in-
clude any of these items in your earned income.
Earnings while an inmate. Amounts received for work
performed while an inmate in a penal institution aren't
earned income when figuring the earned income credit.
This includes amounts for work performed while in a work
release program or while in a halfway house.
Workfare payments. Nontaxable workfare payments
aren't earned income for the EIC. These are cash pay-
ments certain people receive from a state or local agency
that administers public assistance programs funded under
the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) program in return for certain work activities such
as (1) work experience activities (including remodeling or
repairing public housing) if sufficient private sector em-
ployment isn't available, or (2) community service pro-
gram activities.
Community property. If you are married, but qualify to
file as head of household under special rules for married
taxpayers living apart (see Rule 3), and live in a state that
has community property laws, your earned income for the
EIC doesn't include any amount earned by your spouse
that is treated as belonging to you under those laws. That
amount isn't earned income for the EIC, even though you
must include it in your gross income on your income tax
return. Your earned income includes the entire amount
you earned, even if part of it is treated as belonging to
your spouse under your state's community property laws.
Nevada, Washington, and California domestic
partners. If you are a registered domestic partner in Ne-
vada, Washington, or California, the same rules apply.
Your earned income for the EIC doesn't include any
amount earned by your partner. Your earned income in-
cludes the entire amount you earned. For details, see
Pub. 555.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments. If
you were receiving social security retirement benefits or
social security disability benefits at the time you received
any CRP payments, your CRP payments aren't earned in-
come for the EIC.
Nontaxable military pay. Nontaxable pay for members
of the Armed Forces isn't considered earned income for
the EIC. Examples of nontaxable military pay are combat
pay, the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and the Ba-
sic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS). See Pub. 3, Armed
Forces' Tax Guide, for more information.
Combat pay. You can elect to include your non
taxable combat pay in earned income for the EIC.
See Nontaxable combat pay in chapter 4.TIP
Page 8 Chapter 1 Rules for Everyone
2.
Rules If You Have a
Qualifying Child
If you have met all the rules in chapter 1, use this chapter
to see if you have a qualifying child. This chapter dis-
cusses Rules 8 through 10. You must meet all three of
those rules, in addition to the rules in chapters 1 and 4, to
qualify for the earned income credit with a qualifying child.
You must file Form 1040 or Form 1040A to claim the EIC
with a qualifying child. (You cannot file Form 1040EZ.)
You also must complete Schedule EIC and attach it to
your return. If you meet all the rules in chapter 1 and this
chapter, read chapter 4 to find out what to do next.
No qualifying child. If you don't meet Rule 8, you don't
have a qualifying child. Read chapter 3 to find out if you
can get the earned income credit without a qualifying
child.
Rule 8—Your Child Must Meet
the Relationship, Age,
Residency, and Joint Return
Tests
Your child is a qualifying child if your child meets four
tests. The four tests are:
1. Relationship,
2. Age,
3. Residency, and
4. Joint return.
The four tests are illustrated in Figure A. The para-
graphs that follow contain more information about each
test.
Relationship Test
To be your qualifying child, a child must be your:
Son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant
of any of them (for example, your grandchild), or
Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,
stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (for exam-
ple, your niece or nephew).
The following definitions clarify the relationship test.
Adopted child. An adopted child is always treated as
your own child. The term “adopted child” includes a child
who was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.
Foster child. For the EIC, a person is your foster child if
the child is placed with you by an authorized placement
agency or by judgment, decree, or other order of any court
of competent jurisdiction. An authorized placement
agency includes:
A state or local government agency,
A tax-exempt organization licensed by a state, and
An Indian tribal government or an organization author-
ized by an Indian tribal government to place Indian
children.
Example. Debbie, who is 12 years old, was placed in
your care 2 years ago by an authorized agency responsi-
ble for placing children in foster homes. Debbie is your
foster child.
Age Test
Your child must be:
1. Under age 19 at the end of 2016 and younger than
you (or your spouse, if filing jointly),
2. Under age 24 at the end of 2016, a student, and
younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), or
3. Permanently and totally disabled at any time during
2016, regardless of age.
The following examples and definitions clarify the age
test.
Example 1—Child not under age 19. Your son
turned 19 on December 10. Unless he was permanently
and totally disabled or a student, he isn't a qualifying child
because, at the end of the year, he was not under age 19.
Example 2—Child not younger than you or your
spouse. Your 23-year-old brother, who is a full-time stu-
dent and unmarried, lives with you and your spouse. He
isn't disabled. Both you and your spouse are 21 years old,
and you file a joint return. Your brother isn't your qualifying
child because he isn't younger than you or your spouse.
Example 3—Child younger than your spouse but
not younger than you. The facts are the same as in Ex
ample 2 except that your spouse is 25 years old. Because
your brother is younger than your spouse, he is your quali-
fying child, even though he isn't younger than you.
Student defined. To qualify as a student, your child
must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar
months during the calendar year:
1. A full-time student at a school that has a regular
teaching staff, course of study, and regular student
body at the school, or
2. A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course
given by a school described in (1), or a state, county,
or local government.
The 5 calendar months need not be consecutive.
Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child Page 9
Figure A. Tests for Qualifying ChildAND
AND
OR
OR
OR
AND
Son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of
any of them (for example, your grandchild)
Brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,
stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your
niece or nephew)
A qualifying child is a child who is your . . .
Under age 19 at the end of 2016 and younger than you
(or your spouse, if filing jointly)
Under age 24 at the end of 2016, a student, and younger than you
(or your spouse, if filing jointly)
was . . .
Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year,
regardless of age
Joint Return
Who is not filing a joint return for 2016 (or is filing a
joint return for 2016 only to claim a refund of income
tax withheld or estimated tax paid)
Who lived with you in the United States for more than
half of 2016.
Relationship
Residency
Age
You can't claim the EIC for a child who didn't live with you for
more than half of the year, even if you paid most of the child's
living expenses. The IRS may ask you for documents to show
you lived with each qualifying child. Documents you might
want to keep for this purpose include school and child care
records and other records that show your child's address.
!CAUTION
If the child didn't live with you for more than half of the year
because of a temporary absence, birth, death, or kidnapping,
see Temporary absences, Birth or death of child, or Kidnapped
child in this chapter.
TIP
Caution: Figure A is an overview of the tests to claim a qualifying child. For details, see the rest of this chapter.
Page 10 Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child
A full-time student is a student who is enrolled for the
number of hours or courses the school considers to be
full-time attendance.
School defined. A school can be an elementary
school, junior or senior high school, college, university, or
technical, trade, or mechanical school. However,
on-the-job training courses, correspondence schools, and
schools offering courses only through the Internet don't
count as schools for the EIC.
Vocational high school students. Students who
work in co-op jobs in private industry as a part of a
school's regular course of classroom and practical training
are considered full-time students.
Permanently and totally disabled. Your child is per-
manently and totally disabled if both of the following apply.
1. He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful
activity because of a physical or mental condition.
2. A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can
be expected to last continuously for at least a year or
can lead to death.
Substantial gainful activity. Substantial gainful activ-
ity means performing significant duties over a reasonable
period of time while working for pay or profit, or in work
generally done for pay or profit. Full-time work (or
part-time work done at an employer's convenience) in a
competitive work situation for at least the minimum wage
shows that the child can engage in substantial gainful ac-
tivity.
Substantial gainful activity isn't work done to take care
of yourself or your home. It isn't unpaid work on hobbies,
institutional therapy or training, school attendance, clubs,
social programs, and similar activities. However, doing
this kind of work may show that the child is able to engage
in substantial gainful activity.
The fact that the child has not worked for some time
doesn't, by itself, prove the child cannot engage in sub-
stantial gainful activity.
For examples of substantial gainful activity, see Pub.
524.
Residency Test
Your child must have lived with you in the United States
for more than half of 2016.
You can't claim the EIC for a child who didn't live
with you for more than half of the year, even if you
paid most of the child's living expenses. The IRS
may ask you for documents to show you lived with each
qualifying child. Documents you might want to keep for
this purpose include school and child care records and
other records that show your child's address.
The following paragraphs clarify the residency test.
United States. This means the 50 states and the District
of Columbia. It doesn't include Puerto Rico or U.S. pos-
sessions such as Guam.CAUTION
!
Homeless shelter. Your home can be any location
where you regularly live. You don't need a traditional
home. For example, if your child lived with you for more
than half the year in one or more homeless shelters, your
child meets the residency test.
Military personnel stationed outside the United
States. U.S. military personnel stationed outside the Uni-
ted States on extended active duty are considered to live
in the United States during that duty period for purposes
of the EIC.
Extended active duty. Extended active duty means
you are called or ordered to duty for an indefinite period or
for a period of more than 90 days. Once you begin serving
your extended active duty, you are still considered to have
been on extended active duty even if you don't serve
more than 90 days.
Birth or death of child. A child who was born or died in
2016 is treated as having lived with you for more than half
of 2016 if your home was the child's home for more than
half the time he or she was alive in 2016.
Temporary absences. Count time that you or your child
is away from home on a temporary absence due to a spe-
cial circumstance as time the child lived with you. Exam-
ples of a special circumstance include illness, school at-
tendance, business, vacation, military service, and
detention in a juvenile facility.
Kidnapped child. A kidnapped child is treated as living
with you for more than half of the year if the child lived with
you for more than half the part of the year before the date
of the kidnapping. The child must be presumed by law en-
forcement authorities to have been kidnapped by some-
one who isn't a member of your family or the child's family.
This treatment applies for all years until the child is re-
turned. However, the last year this treatment can apply is
the earlier of:
1. The year there is a determination that the child is
dead, or
2. The year the child would have reached age 18.
If your qualifying child has been kidnapped and meets
these requirements, enter “KC,” instead of a number, on
line 6 of Schedule EIC.
Joint Return Test
To meet this test, the child cannot file a joint return for the
year.
Exception. An exception to the joint return test applies if
your child and his or her spouse file a joint return only to
claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax
paid.
Example 1—Child files joint return. You supported
your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year
while her husband was in the Armed Forces. He earned
$25,000 for the year. The couple files a joint return.
Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child Page 11
Because your daughter and her husband file a joint return,
she isn't your qualifying child.
Example 2—Child files joint return to get refund of
tax withheld. Your 18-year-old son and his 17-year-old
wife had $800 of wages from part-time jobs and no other
income. They don't have a child. Neither is required to file
a tax return. Taxes were taken out of their pay, so they file
a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes.
The exception to the joint return test applies, so your son
may be your qualifying child if all the other tests are met.
Example 3—Child files joint return to claim Ameri
can opportunity credit. The facts are the same as in
Example 2 except no taxes were taken out of your son's
pay. He and his wife aren't required to file a tax return, but
they file a joint return to claim an American opportunity
credit of $124 and get a refund of that amount. Because
claiming the American opportunity credit is their reason for
filing the return, they aren't filing it only to claim a refund of
income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. The exception
to the joint return test doesn't apply, so your son isn't your
qualifying child.
Married child. Even if your child doesn't file a joint re-
turn, if your child was married at the end of the year, he or
she cannot be your qualifying child unless:
1. You can claim an exemption for the child, or
2. The reason you cannot claim an exemption for the
child is that you let the child's other parent claim the
exemption under the Special rule for divorced or sep
arated parents (or parents who live apart) described
later.
Social security number. Your qualifying child
must have a valid social security number (SSN)
by the due date of your 2016 return (including ex
tensions), unless the child was born and died in 2016 and
you attach to your return a copy of the child's birth certifi
cate, death certificate, or hospital records showing a live
birth. You cannot claim the EIC on the basis of a qualifying
child if:
1. The qualifying child's SSN is missing from your tax re
turn or is incorrect,
2. The qualifying child's social security card says “Not
valid for employment” and was issued for use in get
ting a federally funded benefit, or
3. Instead of an SSN, the qualifying child has:
a. An individual taxpayer identification number
(ITIN), which is issued to a noncitizen who cannot
get an SSN, or
b. An adoption taxpayer identification number
(ATIN), issued to adopting parents who cannot get
an SSN for the child being adopted until the adop
tion is final.CAUTION
!
If you have more than one qualifying child and only one
has a valid SSN, you can use only that child to claim the
EIC. For more information about SSNs, see Rule 2.
Rule 9—Your Qualifying Child
Cannot Be Used by More Than
One Person To Claim the EIC
Sometimes a child meets the tests to be a qualifying child
of more than one person. However, only one of these per-
sons can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. Only
that person can use the child as a qualifying child to take
all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eli-
gible for each benefit).
1. The exemption for the child.
2. The child tax credit.
3. Head of household filing status.
4. The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
5. The exclusion for dependent care benefits.
6. The EIC.
The other person cannot take any of these benefits based
on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other
person cannot agree to divide these tax benefits between
you. The other person cannot take any of these tax bene-
fits unless he or she has a different qualifying child.
The tiebreaker rules, which follow, explain who, if any-
one, can claim the EIC when more than one person has
the same qualifying child. However, the tiebreaker rules
don't apply if the other person is your spouse and you file
a joint return.
Tiebreaker rules. To determine which person can treat
the child as a qualifying child to claim the six tax benefits
just listed, the following tiebreaker rules apply.
If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the
child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent.
If the parents file a joint return together and can claim
the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as
the qualifying child of the parents.
If the parents don't file a joint return together but both
parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS
will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent
with whom the child lived for the longer period of time
during the year. If the child lived with each parent for
the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as
the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher
adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year.
If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child,
the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person
who had the highest AGI for the year.
If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but
no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated
Page 12 Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child
as the qualifying child of the person who had the high-
est AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is
higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's pa-
rents who can claim the child. If the child's parents file
a joint return with each other, this rule can be applied
by treating the parents' total AGI as divided evenly be-
tween them. See Example 8.
Subject to these tiebreaker rules, you and the other
person may be able to choose which of you claims the
child as a qualifying child. See Examples 1 through 13.
If you cannot claim the EIC because your qualifying
child is treated under the tiebreaker rules as the qualifying
child of another person for 2016, you may be able to take
the EIC using a different qualifying child, but you cannot
take the EIC using the rules in chapter 3 for people who
don't have a qualifying child.
If the other person cannot claim the EIC. If you and
someone else have the same qualifying child but the other
person cannot claim the EIC because he or she isn't eligi-
ble or his or her earned income or AGI is too high, you
may be able to treat the child as a qualifying child. See
Examples 6 and 7. But you cannot treat the child as a
qualifying child to claim the EIC if the other person uses
the child to claim any of the other six tax benefits listed
earlier in this chapter.
Examples. The following examples may help you in de-
termining whether you can claim the EIC when you and
someone else have the same qualifying child.
Example 1—Child lived with parent and grandpar
ent. You and your 2-year-old son Jimmy lived with your
mother all year. You are 25 years old, unmarried, and your
AGI is $9,000. Your only income was $9,000 from a
part-time job. Your mother's only income was $20,000
from her job, and her AGI is $20,000. Jimmy's father did
not live with you or Jimmy. The special rule explained later
for divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart) doesn't apply. Jimmy is a qualifying child of both
you and your mother because he meets the relationship,
age, residency, and joint return tests for both you and your
mother. However, only one of you can treat him as a quali-
fying child to claim the EIC (and the other tax benefits lis-
ted earlier in this chapter for which that person qualifies).
He isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, including his fa-
ther. If you don't claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for the
EIC or any of the other tax benefits listed earlier, your
mother can treat him as a qualifying child to claim the EIC
(and any of the other tax benefits listed earlier for which
she qualifies).
Example 2—Parent has higher AGI than grandpar
ent. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your
AGI is $25,000. Because your mother's AGI isn't higher
than yours, she cannot claim Jimmy as a qualifying child.
Only you can claim him.
Example 3—Two persons claim same child. The
facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and
your mother both claim Jimmy as a qualifying child. In this
case, you as the child's parent will be the only one allowed
to claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for the EIC and the
other tax benefits listed earlier for which you qualify. The
IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the EIC and any of
the other tax benefits listed earlier unless she has another
qualifying child.
Example 4—Qualifying children split between two
persons. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except
that you also have two other young children who are quali-
fying children of both you and your mother. Only one of
you can claim each child. However, if your mother's AGI is
higher than yours, you can allow your mother to claim one
or more of the children. For example, if you claim one
child, your mother can claim the other two.
Example 5—Taxpayer who is a qualifying child.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you
are only 18 years old. This means you are a qualifying
child of your mother. Because of Rule 10, discussed next,
you cannot claim the EIC and cannot claim your son as a
qualifying child. Only your mother may be able to treat
Jimmy as a qualifying child to claim the EIC. If your mother
meets all the other requirements for claiming the EIC and
you don't claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for any of the
other tax benefits listed earlier, your mother can claim
both you and Jimmy as qualifying children for the EIC.
Example 6—Grandparent with too much earned in
come to claim EIC. The facts are the same as in Exam
ple 1 except that your mother earned $50,000 from her
job. Because your mother's earned income is too high for
her to claim the EIC, only you can claim the EIC using
your son.
Example 7—Parent with too much earned income
to claim EIC. The facts are the same as in Example 1
except that you earned $50,000 from your job and your
AGI is $50,500. Your earned income is too high for you to
claim the EIC. But your mother cannot claim the EIC ei-
ther, because her AGI isn't higher than yours.
Example 8—Child lived with both parents and
grandparent. The facts are the same as in Example 1
except that you and Jimmy's father are married to each
other, live with Jimmy and your mother, and have AGI of
$30,000 on a joint return. If you and your husband don't
claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for the EIC or any of the
other tax benefits listed earlier, your mother can claim him
instead. Even though the AGI on your joint return,
$30,000, is more than your mother's AGI of $20,000, for
this purpose half of the joint AGI can be treated as yours
and half as your husband's. In other words, each parent's
AGI can be treated as $15,000.
Example 9—Separated parents. You, your hus-
band, and your 10-year-old son Joey lived together until
August 1, 2016, when your husband moved out of the
household. In August and September, Joey lived with you.
For the rest of the year, Joey lived with your husband, who
is Joey's father. Joey is a qualifying child of both you and
your husband because he lived with each of you for more
than half the year and because he met the relationship,
Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child Page 13
age, and joint return tests for both of you. At the end of the
year, you and your husband still weren't divorced, legally
separated, or separated under a written separation agree-
ment, so the Special rule for divorced or separated pa
rents (or parents who live apart) doesn't apply.
You and your husband will file separate returns. Your
husband agrees to let you treat Joey as a qualifying child.
This means, if your husband doesn't claim Joey as a qual-
ifying child for any of the tax benefits listed earlier, you can
claim him as a qualifying child for any tax benefit listed
earlier for which you qualify. However, your filing status is
married filing separately, so you cannot claim the EIC or
the credit for child and dependent care expenses. See
Rule 3.
Example 10—Separated parents claim same child.
The facts are the same as in Example 9 except that you
and your husband both claim Joey as a qualifying child. In
this case, only your husband will be allowed to treat Joey
as a qualifying child. This is because, during 2016, the
boy lived with him longer than with you. You cannot claim
the EIC (either with or without a qualifying child). How-
ever, your husband's filing status is married filing sepa-
rately, so he cannot claim the EIC or the credit for child
and dependent care expenses. See Rule 3.
Example 11—Unmarried parents. You, your
5-year-old son, and your son's father lived together all
year. You and your son's father aren't married. Your son is
a qualifying child of both you and his father because he
meets the relationship, age, residency, and joint return
tests for both you and his father. Your earned income and
AGI are $12,000, and your son's father's earned income
and AGI are $14,000. Neither of you had any other in-
come. Your son's father agrees to let you treat the child as
a qualifying child. This means, if your son's father doesn't
claim your son as a qualifying child for the EIC or any of
the other tax benefits listed earlier, you can claim him as a
qualifying child for the EIC and any of the other tax bene-
fits listed earlier for which you qualify.
Example 12—Unmarried parents claim same child.
The facts are the same as in Example 11 except that you
and your son's father both claim your son as a qualifying
child. In this case, only your son's father will be allowed to
treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because his
AGI, $14,000, is more than your AGI, $12,000. You can-
not claim the EIC (either with or without a qualifying child).
Example 13—Child did not live with a parent. You
and your 7-year-old niece, your sister's child, lived with
your mother all year. You are 25 years old, and your AGI
is $9,300. Your only income was from a part-time job.
Your mother's AGI is $15,000. Her only income was from
her job. Your niece's parents file jointly, have an AGI of
less than $9,000, and don't live with you or their child.
Your niece is a qualifying child of both you and your
mother because she meets the relationship, age, resi-
dency, and joint return tests for both you and your mother.
However, only your mother can treat her as a qualifying
child. This is because your mother's AGI, $15,000, is
more than your AGI, $9,300.
Special rule for divorced or separated parents (or
parents who live apart). A child will be treated as the
qualifying child of his or her noncustodial parent (for pur-
poses of claiming an exemption and the child tax credit,
but not for the EIC) if all of the following statements are
true.
1. The parents:
a. Are divorced or legally separated under a decree
of divorce or separate maintenance,
b. Are separated under a written separation agree-
ment, or
c. Lived apart at all time during the last 6 months of
2016, whether or not they are or were married.
2. The child received over half of his or her support for
the year from the parents.
3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for
more than half of 2016.
4. Either of the following statements is true.
a. The custodial parent signs Form 8332 or a sub-
stantially similar statement that he or she will not
claim the child as a dependent for the year, and
the noncustodial parent attaches the form or state-
ment to his or her return. If the divorce decree or
separation agreement went into effect after 1984
and before 2009, the noncustodial parent may be
able to attach certain pages from the decree or
agreement instead of Form 8332.
b. A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate mainte-
nance or written separation agreement that ap-
plies to 2016 provides that the noncustodial parent
can claim the child as a dependent, and the non-
custodial parent provides at least $600 for support
of the child during 2016.
For details, see Pub. 501. If a child is treated as the quali-
fying child of the noncustodial parent under this special
rule for children of divorced or separated parents (or pa-
rents who live apart), only the noncustodial parent can
claim an exemption and the child tax credit for the child.
However, only the custodial parent, if eligible, or another
eligible taxpayer can claim the child as a qualifying child
for the EIC. For details and examples, see Applying the
tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents (or pa
rents who live apart) in Pub. 501.
Rule 10—You Cannot Be a
Qualifying Child of Another
Taxpayer
You are a qualifying child of another taxpayer (such as
your parent, guardian, or foster parent) if all of the follow-
ing statements are true.
1. You are that person's son, daughter, stepchild, foster
child, or a descendant of any of them. Or, you are that
Page 14 Chapter 2 Rules If You Have a Qualifying Child
person's brother, sister, half brother, half sister, step-
brother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. You were:
a. Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger
than that person (or that person's spouse, if the
person files jointly),
b. Under age 24 at the end of the year, a student,
and younger than that person (or that person's
spouse, if the person files jointly), or
c. Permanently and totally disabled, regardless of
age.
3. You lived with that person in the United States for
more than half of the year.
4. You aren't filing a joint return for the year (or are filing
a joint return only to claim a refund of withheld income
tax or estimated tax paid).
For more details about the tests to be a qualifying child,
see Rule 8.
If you are a qualifying child of another taxpayer, you
cannot claim the EIC. This is true even if the person for
whom you are a qualifying child doesn't claim the EIC or
meet all of the rules to claim the EIC. Put “No” beside
line 66a (Form 1040) or line 42a (Form 1040A).
Example. You and your daughter lived with your
mother all year. You are 22 years old, unmarried, and at-
tended a trade school full time. You had a part-time job
and earned $5,700. You had no other income. Because
you meet the relationship, age, residency, and joint return
tests, you are a qualifying child of your mother. She can
claim the EIC if she meets all the other requirements. Be-
cause you are your mother's qualifying child, you cannot
claim the EIC. This is so even if your mother cannot or
doesn't claim the EIC.
Child of person not required to file a return. You
aren't the qualifying child of another taxpayer (and so may
qualify to claim the EIC) if the person for whom you met
the relationship, age, residency, and joint return tests isn't
required to file an income tax return and either:
Doesn't file an income tax return, or
Files a return only to get a refund of income tax with-
held or estimated tax paid.
Example 1—Return not required. The facts are the
same as in the last example except your mother had no
gross income, isn't required to file a 2016 tax return, and
doesn't file a 2016 tax return. As a result, you aren't your
mother's qualifying child. You can claim the EIC if you
meet all the other requirements to do so.
Example 2—Return filed to get refund of tax with
held. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except
your mother had wages of $1,500 and had income tax
withheld from her wages. She files a return only to get a
refund of the income tax withheld and doesn't claim the
EIC or any other tax credits or deductions. As a result, you
aren't your mother's qualifying child. You can claim the
EIC if you meet all the other requirements to do so.
Example 3—Return filed to get EIC. The facts are
the same as in Example 2 except your mother claimed the
EIC on her return. Since she filed the return to get the EIC,
she isn't filing it only to get a refund of income tax with-
held. As a result, you are your mother's qualifying child.
You cannot claim the EIC.
3.
Rules If You Do Not Have
a Qualifying Child
Use this chapter if you don't have a qualifying child and
have met all the rules in chapter 1. This chapter discusses
Rules 11 through 14. You must meet all four of those
rules, in addition to the rules in chapters 1 and 4, to qualify
for the earned income credit without a qualifying child.
You can file Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040EZ to
claim the EIC without a qualifying child. If you meet all the
rules in chapter 1 and this chapter, read chapter 4 to find
out what to do next.
If you have a qualifying child. If you meet Rule 8, you
have a qualifying child. If you meet Rule 8 and don't claim
the EIC with a qualifying child, you cannot claim the EIC
without a qualifying child.
Rule 11—You Must Be at Least
Age 25 but Under Age 65
You must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end
of 2016. If you are married filing a joint return, either you or
your spouse must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at
the end of 2016. It doesn't matter which spouse meets the
age test, as long as one of the spouses does.
You meet the age test if you were born after December
31, 1951, and before January 2, 1992. If you are married
filing a joint return, you meet the age test if either you or
your spouse was born after December 31, 1951, and be-
fore January 2, 1992.
If neither you nor your spouse meets the age test, you
cannot claim the EIC. Put “No” next to line 66a (Form
1040), line 42a (Form 1040A), or line 8a (Form 1040EZ).
Example 1. You are age 28 and unmarried. You meet
the age test.
Example 2—Spouse meets age test. You are mar-
ried and filing a joint return. You are age 23 and your
Chapter 3 Rules If You Do Not Have a Qualifying Child Page 15
spouse is age 27. You meet the age test because your
spouse is at least age 25 but under age 65.
Death of spouse. If you are filing a joint return with your
spouse who died in 2016, you meet the age test if your
spouse was at least age 25 but under age 65 at the time
of death.
Your spouse is considered to reach age 25 on the day
before his or her 25th birthday. However, the rule for
reaching age 65 is different; your spouse reaches age 65
on his or her 65th birthday.
Even if your spouse was born before January 2, 1992,
he or she isn't considered at least age 25 at the end of
2016 unless he or she was at least age 25 at the time of
death.
Example 1. You are married and filing a joint return
with your spouse who died in August 2016. You are age
67. Your spouse would have become age 65 in November
2016. Because your spouse was under age 65 when she
died, you meet the age test.
Example 2. Your spouse was born on February 14,
1991, and died on February 13, 2016. Your spouse is con-
sidered age 25 at the time of death. However, if your
spouse died on February 12, 2016, your spouse isn't con-
sidered age 25 at the time of death and isn't at least age
25 at the end of 2016.
Death of taxpayer. A taxpayer who died in 2016 meets
the age test if the taxpayer was at least age 25 but under
age 65 at the time of death.
A taxpayer is considered to reach age 25 on the day
before his or her 25th birthday. However, the rule for
reaching age 65 is different; a taxpayer reaches age 65 on
his or her 65th birthday.
Even if the taxpayer was born before January 2, 1992,
he or she isn't considered at least age 25 at the end of
2016 unless he or she was at least age 25 at the time of
death.
Rule 12—You Cannot Be the
Dependent of Another Person
If you aren't filing a joint return, you meet this rule if:
You checked box 6a on Form 1040 or 1040A, or
You didn't check the “You” box on line 5 of Form
1040EZ, and you entered $10,350 on that line.
If you are filing a joint return, you meet this rule if:
You checked both box 6a and box 6b on Form 1040
or 1040A, or
You and your spouse didn't check either the “You” box
or the “Spouse” box on line 5 of Form 1040EZ, and
you entered $20,700 on that line.
If you aren't sure whether someone else can claim you
as a dependent, get Pub. 501 and read the rules for claim-
ing a dependent.
If someone else can claim you as a dependent on his
or her return, but doesn't, you still cannot claim the credit.
Example 1. In 2016, you were age 25, single, and liv-
ing at home with your parents. You worked and weren't a
student. You earned $7,500. Your parents cannot claim
you as a dependent. When you file your return, you claim
an exemption for yourself by not checking the “You” box
on line 5 of your Form 1040EZ and by entering $10,350
on that line. You meet this rule. You can claim the EIC if
you meet all the other requirements.
Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1,
except that you earned $2,000. Your parents can claim
you as a dependent but decide not to. You don't meet this
rule. You cannot claim the credit because your parents
could have claimed you as a dependent.
Joint returns. You generally cannot be claimed as a de-
pendent by another person if you are married and file a
joint return.
However, another person may be able to claim you as
a dependent if you and your spouse file a joint return
merely to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estima-
ted tax paid. But neither you nor your spouse can be
claimed as a dependent by another person if you claim
the EIC on your joint return.
Example 1—Return filed to get refund of tax with
held. You are 26 years old. You and your wife live with
your parents and had $800 of wages from part-time jobs
and no other income. Neither you nor your wife is required
to file a tax return. You don't have a child. Taxes were
taken out of your pay so you file a joint return only to get a
refund of the withheld taxes. Your parents aren't disquali-
fied from claiming an exemption for you just because you
filed a joint return. They can claim exemptions for you and
your wife if all the other tests to do so are met.
Example 2—Return filed to get EIC. The facts are
the same as in Example 1 except no taxes were taken out
of your pay. Also, you and your wife aren't required to file
a tax return, but you file a joint return to claim an EIC of
$63 and get a refund of that amount. Because claiming
the EIC is your reason for filing the return, you aren't filing
it only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estima-
ted tax paid. Your parents cannot claim an exemption for
either you or your wife.
Rule 13—You Cannot Be a
Qualifying Child of Another
Taxpayer
You are a qualifying child of another taxpayer (your pa-
rent, guardian, foster parent, etc.) if all of the following
statements are true.
1. You are that person's son, daughter, stepchild, foster
child, or a descendant of any of them. Or, you are that
person's brother, sister, half brother, half sister,
Page 16 Chapter 3 Rules If You Do Not Have a Qualifying Child
stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of
them.
2. You were:
a. Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger
than that person (or that person's spouse, if the
person files jointly),
b. Under age 24 at the end of the year, a student,
and younger than that person (or that person's
spouse, if the person files jointly), or
c. Permanently and totally disabled, regardless of
age.
3. You lived with that person in the United States for
more than half of the year.
4. You aren't filing a joint return for the year (or are filing
a joint return only to claim a refund of withheld income
tax or estimated tax paid).
For more details about the tests to be a qualifying child,
see Rule 8.
If you are a qualifying child of another taxpayer, you
cannot claim the EIC. This is true even if the person for
whom you are a qualifying child doesn't claim the EIC or
meet all of the rules to claim the EIC. Put “No” next to
line 66a (Form 1040), line 42a (Form 1040A), or line 8a
(Form 1040EZ).
Example. You lived with your mother all year. You are
age 26, unmarried, and permanently and totally disabled.
Your only income was from a community center where
you went three days a week to answer telephones. You
earned $5,000 for the year and provided more than half of
your own support. Because you meet the relationship,
age, residency, and joint return tests, you are a qualifying
child of your mother for the EIC. She can claim the EIC if
she meets all the other requirements. Because you are a
qualifying child of your mother, you cannot claim the EIC.
This is so even if your mother cannot or doesn't claim the
EIC.
Joint returns. You generally cannot be a qualifying child
of another taxpayer if you are married and file a joint re-
turn.
However, you may be a qualifying child of another tax-
payer if you and your spouse file a joint return merely to
claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax
paid. But neither you nor your spouse can be a qualifying
child of another taxpayer if you claim the EIC on your joint
return.
Child of person not required to file a return. You
aren't the qualifying child of another taxpayer (and so may
qualify to claim the EIC) if the person for whom you meet
the relationship, age, residency, and joint return tests isn't
required to file an income tax return and either:
Doesn't file an income tax return, or
Files a return only to get a refund of income tax with-
held or estimated tax paid.
Example 1—Return not required. You lived all year
with your father. You are 27 years old, unmarried, perma-
nently and totally disabled, and earned $13,000. You have
no other income, no children, and provided more than half
of your own support. Your father had no gross income,
isn't required to file a 2016 tax return, and doesn't file a
2016 tax return. As a result, you aren't your father's quali-
fying child. You can claim the EIC if you meet all the other
requirements to do so.
Example 2—Return filed to get refund of tax with
held. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except
your father had wages of $1,500 and had income tax with-
held from his wages. He files a return only to get a refund
of the income tax withheld and doesn't claim the EIC or
any other tax credits or deductions. As a result, you aren't
your father's qualifying child. You can claim the EIC if you
meet all the other requirements to do so.
Example 3—Return filed to get EIC. The facts are
the same as in Example 2 except your father claimed the
EIC on his return. Since he filed the return to get the EIC,
he isn't filing it only to get a refund of income tax withheld.
As a result, you are your father's qualifying child. You can-
not claim the EIC.
Rule 14—You Must Have Lived
in the United States More Than
Half of the Year
Your home (and your spouse's, if filing a joint return) must
have been in the United States for more than half the year.
If it wasn't, put “No” next to line 66a (Form 1040),
line 42a (Form 1040A), or line 8a (Form 1040EZ).
United States. This means the 50 states and the District
of Columbia. It doesn't include Puerto Rico or U.S. pos-
sessions such as Guam.
Homeless shelter. Your home can be any location
where you regularly live. You don't need a traditional
home. If you lived in one or more homeless shelters in the
United States for more than half the year, you meet this
rule.
Military personnel stationed outside the United
States. U.S. military personnel stationed outside the Uni-
ted States on extended active duty (defined in chapter 2)
are considered to live in the United States during that duty
period for purposes of the EIC.
Chapter 3 Rules If You Do Not Have a Qualifying Child Page 17
4.
Figuring and Claiming the
EIC
You must meet one more rule to claim the EIC.
You need to know the amount of your earned income to
see if you meet the rule in this chapter. You also need to
know that amount to figure your EIC.
Rule 15—Earned Income
Limits
Your earned income must be less than:
$47,955 ($53,505 for married filing jointly) if you have
three or more qualifying children,
$44,648 ($50,198 for married filing jointly) if you have
two qualifying children,
$39,296 ($44,846 for married filing jointly) if you have
one qualifying child, or
$14,880 ($20,430 for married filing jointly) if you don't
have a qualifying child.
Earned Income
Earned income generally means wages, salaries, tips,
other taxable employee pay, and net earnings from
self-employment. Employee pay is earned income only if it
is taxable. Nontaxable employee pay, such as certain de-
pendent care benefits and adoption benefits, isn't earned
income. But there is an exception for nontaxable combat
pay, which you can choose to include in earned income.
Earned income is explained in detail in Rule 7 in chap-
ter 1.
Figuring earned income. If you are self-employed, a
statutory employee, or a member of the clergy or a church
employee who files Schedule SE (Form 1040), you will fig-
ure your earned income when you fill out Part 4 of EIC
Worksheet B in the Form 1040 instructions.
Otherwise, figure your earned income by using the
worksheet in Step 5 of the Form 1040 instructions for lines
66a and 66b or the Form 1040A instructions for lines 42a
and 42b, or the worksheet in Step 2 of the Form 1040EZ
instructions for lines 8a and 8b.
When using one of those worksheets to figure your
earned income, you will start with the amount on line 7
(Form 1040 or Form 1040A) or line 1 (Form 1040EZ). You
will then reduce that amount by any amount included on
that line and described in the following list.
Scholarship or fellowship grants not reported on
a Form W2. A scholarship or fellowship grant that
wasn't reported to you on a Form W-2 isn't considered
earned income for the earned income credit.
Inmate's income. Amounts received for work per-
formed while an inmate in a penal institution aren't
earned income for the earned income credit. This in-
cludes amounts received for work performed while in
a work release program or while in a halfway house. If
you received any amount for work done while an in-
mate in a penal institution and that amount is included
in the total on line 7 (Form 1040 or Form 1040A) or
line 1 (Form 1040EZ), put “PRI” and the amount on
the dotted line next to line 7 (Form 1040), in the space
to the left of the entry space for line 7 (Form 1040A),
or in the space to the left of line 1 (Form 1040EZ).
Pension or annuity from deferred compensation
plans. A pension or annuity from a nonqualified defer-
red compensation plan or a nongovernmental section
457 plan isn't considered earned income for the
earned income credit. If you received such an amount
and it was included in the total on line 7 (Form 1040 or
Form 1040A) or line 1 (Form 1040EZ), put “DFC” and
the amount on the dotted line next to line 7 (Form
1040), in the space to the left of the entry space for
line 7 (Form 1040A), or in the space to the left of line 1
(Form 1040EZ). This amount may be reported in
box 11 of your Form W-2. If you received such an
amount but box 11 is blank, contact your employer for
the amount received as a pension or an annuity.
Medicaid waiver payments. Medicaid waiver pay-
ments you exclude from income aren't earned income
for the earned income credit. These are payments re-
ceived for providing nonmedical support services un-
der a plan of care to someone in your home. If these
payments were incorrectly reported to you in box 1 of
Form(s) W-2 and you included them in the total on
Form 1040, line 7, because you couldn't get a correc-
ted Form W-2, report them as described in the instruc-
tions for Form 1040, line 21. For more information
about these payments, see Pub. 525.
Clergy. If you are a member of the clergy who files
Schedule SE and the amount on line 2 of that schedule in-
cludes an amount that was also reported on line 7 (Form
1040), subtract that amount from the amount on line 7
(Form 1040) and enter the result on line 1 of the work-
sheet in Step 5 of the Form 1040 instructions for lines 66a
and 66b. Put “Clergy” on the dotted line next to line 66a
(Form 1040).
Church employees. A church employee means an
employee (other than a minister or member of a religious
order) of a church or qualified church-controlled organiza-
tion that is exempt from employer social security and
Medicare taxes. If you received wages as a church em-
ployee and included any amount on both line 5a of Sched-
ule SE and line 7 (Form 1040), subtract that amount from
the amount on line 7 (Form 1040) and enter the result on
line 1 of the worksheet in Step 5 of the Form 1040 instruc-
tions for lines 66a and 66b.
Page 18 Chapter 4 Figuring and Claiming the EIC
Nontaxable combat pay. You can elect to include
your nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the
earned income credit. If you make the election, you must
include in earned income all nontaxable combat pay you
received.
If you are filing a joint return and both you and your
spouse received nontaxable combat pay, you can each
make your own election. In other words, if one of you
makes the election, the other one can also make it but
doesn't have to.
The amount of your nontaxable combat pay should be
shown on your Form W-2 in box 12 with code Q.
Electing to include nontaxable combat pay in earned in-
come may increase or decrease your EIC. Figure the
credit with and without your nontaxable combat pay be-
fore making the election. Whether the election increases
or decreases your EIC depends on your total earned in-
come, filing status, and number of qualifying children. If
your earned income without your combat pay is less than
the amount shown below for your number of children, you
may benefit from electing to include your nontaxable com-
bat pay in earned income and you should figure the credit
both ways. If your earned income without your combat pay
is equal to or more than these amounts, you will not bene-
fit from including your combat pay in your earned income.
$6,600 if you have no children.
$9,900 if you have one child.
$13,900 if you have two or more children.
The following examples illustrate the effect of including
nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the EIC.
Example 1—Election increases the EIC. George
and Janice are married and will file a joint return. They
have one qualifying child. George was in the military and
earned $15,000 ($5,000 taxable wages + $10,000 nontax-
able combat pay). Janice worked part of the year and
earned $2,000. Their taxable earned income and AGI are
$7,000. George and Janice qualify for the EIC and fill out
the EIC Worksheet and Schedule EIC.
When they complete the EIC Worksheet without adding
the nontaxable combat pay to their earned income, they
find their credit to be $2,389. When they complete the EIC
Worksheet with the nontaxable combat pay added to their
earned income, they find their credit to be $3,373. Be-
cause making the election will increase their EIC, they
elect to add the nontaxable combat pay to their earned in-
come for the EIC. They enter $3,373 on line 42a of their
Form 1040A and enter the amount of their nontaxable
combat pay on line 42b.
Example 2—Election doesn't increase the EIC.
The facts are the same as Example 1 except George had
nontaxable combat pay of $24,000. When George and
Janice add their nontaxable combat pay to their earned in-
come, they find their credit to be $2,209. Because the
credit they can get if they don't add the nontaxable com-
bat pay to their earned income is $2,389, they decide not
to make the election. They enter $2,389 on line 42a of
their Form 1040A.
IRS Will Figure the EIC for You
The IRS will figure your EIC for you if you follow the in-
structions in Figure B.
Please don't ask the IRS to figure your EIC unless
you are eligible for it. To be eligible, you must
meet Rule 15 in this chapter as well as the rules in
chapter 1 and either chapter 2 or chapter 3, whichever ap
plies to you. If your credit was reduced or disallowed for
any year after 1996, the rules in chapter 5 may apply as
well.
If you want the IRS to figure your income tax, see
chapter 30 of Pub. 17, Your Federal Income Tax.
How To Figure the EIC Yourself
To figure the EIC yourself, use the EIC Worksheet in the
instructions for the form you are using (Form 1040, Form
1040A, or Form 1040EZ). If you have a qualifying child,
complete Schedule EIC (discussed later in this chapter)
and attach it to your tax return.
If you want the IRS to figure your EIC for you, see IRS
Will Figure the EIC for You, earlier.
Special Instructions for Form 1040
Filers
If you file Form 1040, you will need to decide whether to
use EIC Worksheet A or EIC Worksheet B to figure the
amount of your EIC. This section explains how to use
these worksheets and how to report the EIC on your re-
turn.
EIC Worksheet A. Use EIC Worksheet A if you were not
self-employed at any time in 2016 and aren't a member of
the clergy, a church employee who files Schedule SE, or a
statutory employee filing Schedule C or C-EZ.
EIC Worksheet B. Use EIC Worksheet B if you were
self-employed at any time in 2016 or are a member of the
clergy, a church employee who files Schedule SE, or a
statutory employee filing Schedule C or C-EZ. If any of the
following situations apply to you, read the paragraph and
then complete EIC Worksheet B.
Net earnings from selfemployment of $400 or
more. If your net earnings from self-employment are
$400 or more, be sure to correctly fill out Schedule SE
(Form 1040) and pay the proper amount of self-employ-
ment tax. If you don't, you may not get all the EIC you are
entitled to.
When figuring your net earnings from selfemploy
ment, you must claim all your allowable business
expenses.CAUTION
!TIPCAUTION
!
Chapter 4 Figuring and Claiming the EIC Page 19
When to use the optional methods of figuring net
earnings. Using the optional methods on Schedule SE
to figure your net earnings from self-employment may
qualify you for the EIC or give you a larger credit. If your
net earnings (without using the optional methods) are less
than $5,040, see the instructions for Schedule SE for de-
tails about the optional methods.
When both spouses have selfemployment in
come. You must complete both Parts 1 and 2 of EIC
Worksheet B if all of the following conditions apply to you.
1. You are married filing a joint return.
2. Both you and your spouse have income from self-em-
ployment.
3. You or your spouse file a Schedule SE and the other
spouse doesn't file Schedule SE.
Statutory employees. Statutory employees report wa-
ges and expenses on Schedule C or C-EZ. They don't file
Schedule SE. If you are a statutory employee, enter the
amount from line 1 of Schedule C or C-EZ in Part 3 when
you complete EIC Worksheet B.
Schedule EIC
You must complete Schedule EIC and attach it to your tax
return if you have a qualifying child and are claiming the
EIC. Schedule EIC provides the IRS with information
about your qualifying children, including their names,
ages, SSNs, relationship to you, and the amount of time
they lived with you during the year. An example of a fil-
led-in Schedule EIC is shown in chapter 6.
Figure B. Steps To Follow To Have the IRS Figure Your EICPayments,
credits,
and tax
Refund
Add lines your total payments
Put “EIC” on the dotted line next to line 66a (Form 1040), to the left of the entry space
for line 42a (Form 1040A), or in the space to the left of line 8a (Form 1040EZ). Then, if
you have any of the types of income described earlier under Inmate’s income, Pension
or annuity from deferred compensation plans, Medicaid waiver payments, or Clergy,
follow the instructions given there.
Complete all other parts of your return that apply to you.
Do not fill in lines that relate to your total payments, overpayment, refund, or amount
you owe (lines 74, 75, 76a, and 78 (Form 1040), lines 46, 47, 48a, and 50 (Form 1040A),
or lines 9, 13a, and 14 (Form 1040EZ)).
Earned income credit (EIC)
If you have a qualifying child, complete Schedule EIC and attach it to your tax return.5
Nontaxable combat pay election
If you received nontaxable combat pay and are electing to include it in your earned
income for the EIC, enter the amount on line 66b (Form 1040), line 42b (Form 1040A),
or line 8b (Form 1040EZ). For details, see Nontaxable combat pay in this chapter.
Page 20 Chapter 4 Figuring and Claiming the EIC
If you are required to complete and attach Sched
ule EIC but don't, it will take longer to process
your return and issue your refund.
5.
Disallowance of the EIC
If your earned income credit (EIC) for any year af
ter 1996 was denied (disallowed) or reduced by
the IRS, you may need to complete an additional
form to claim the credit for 2016.
This chapter is for people whose earned income credit
(EIC) for any year after 1996 was denied or reduced by
the IRS. If this applies to you, you may need to complete
Form 8862, Information To Claim Earned Income Credit
After Disallowance, and attach it to your 2016 return to
claim the credit for 2016. This chapter explains when you
need to attach Form 8862. For more information, see
Form 8862 and its instructions.
This chapter also explains the rules for certain people who
cannot claim the EIC for a period of years after their EIC
was denied or reduced.
Form 8862
If your EIC for any year after 1996 was denied or reduced
for any reason other than a math or clerical error, you
must attach a completed Form 8862 to your next tax re-
turn to claim the EIC. You must also qualify to claim the
EIC by meeting all the rules described in this publication.
Exception 1. Don't file Form 8862 if either (1) or (2) be-
low is true.
1. After your EIC was reduced or disallowed in the ear-
lier year:
a. You filed Form 8862 in a later year and your EIC
for that later year was allowed, and
b. Your EIC hasn't been reduced or disallowed again
for any reason other than a math or clerical error.
2. You are taking the EIC without a qualifying child for
2016 and the only reason your EIC was reduced or
disallowed in the earlier year was because the IRS
determined that a child listed on Schedule EIC wasn't
your qualifying child.
In either of these cases, you can take the EIC without filing
Form 8862 if you meet all the EIC eligibility requirements.CAUTION
!CAUTION
!
Exception 2. Don't file Form 8862 or take the EIC for:
2 years after there was a final determination that your
EIC claim was due to reckless or intentional disregard
of the EIC rules, or
10 years after there was a final determination that your
EIC claim was due to fraud.
More information. For details, see Are You Prohibited
From Claiming the EIC for a Period of Years? in this chap-
ter.
The date on which your EIC was denied and the date
on which you file your 2016 return affect whether you
need to attach Form 8862 to your 2016 return or to a later
return. The following examples demonstrate whether
Form 8862 is required for 2016 or 2017.
Example 1—Form 8862 required for 2016. You filed
your 2015 tax return in March 2016 and claimed the EIC
with a qualifying child. The IRS questioned the EIC, and
you were unable to prove the child was a qualifying child.
In September 2016, you received a statutory notice of de-
ficiency telling you that an adjustment would be made and
tax assessed unless you filed a petition with the Tax Court
within 90 days. You didn't act on this notice within 90
days. Therefore, your EIC was denied in December 2016.
To claim the EIC with a qualifying child on your 2016 re-
turn, you must complete and attach Form 8862 to that re-
turn. However, to claim the EIC without a qualifying child
on your 2016 return, you don't need to file Form 8862.
Example 2—Form 8862 required for 2017. The
facts are the same as in the previous example except that
you received the statutory notice of deficiency in February
2017. Because the 90-day period referred to in the statu-
tory notice isn't over when you are ready to file your return
for 2016, you shouldn't attach Form 8862 to your 2016 re-
turn. However, to claim the EIC with a qualifying child for
2017, you must complete and attach Form 8862 to your
return for that year. To claim the EIC without a qualifying
child for 2017, you don't need to file Form 8862.
Exception for math or clerical errors. If your EIC was
denied or reduced as a result of a math or clerical error,
don't attach Form 8862 to your next tax return. For exam-
ple, if your arithmetic is incorrect, the IRS can correct it. If
you don't provide a correct social security number, the
IRS can deny the EIC. These kinds of errors are called
math or clerical errors.
Omission of Form 8862. If you are required to attach
Form 8862 to your 2016 tax return, and you claim the EIC
without attaching a completed Form 8862, your claim will
be automatically denied. This is considered a math or
clerical error. You won't be permitted to claim the EIC
without a completed Form 8862.
Additional documents may be required. You may
have to provide the IRS with additional documents or in-
formation before a refund relating to the EIC you claim is
released to you, even if you attach a properly completed
Form 8862 to your return.
Chapter 5 Disallowance of the EIC Page 21
Are You Prohibited From
Claiming the EIC for a Period
of Years?
If your EIC for any year after 1996 was denied and it was
determined that your error was due to reckless or inten-
tional disregard of the EIC rules, then you cannot claim
the EIC for the next 2 years. If your error was due to fraud,
then you cannot claim the EIC for the next 10 years. The
date on which your EIC was denied and the date on which
you file your 2016 return affect the years for which you are
prohibited from claiming the EIC. The following examples
demonstrate which years you are prohibited from claiming
the EIC.
Example 3—Cannot claim EIC for 2 years. You
claimed the EIC on your 2015 tax return, which you filed in
March 2016. The IRS determined you weren't entitled to
the EIC and that your error was due to reckless or inten-
tional disregard of the EIC rules. In September 2016, you
received a statutory notice of deficiency telling you an ad-
justment would be made and tax assessed unless you
filed a petition with the Tax Court within 90 days. You
didn't act on this notice within 90 days. Therefore, your
EIC was denied in December 2016. You cannot claim the
EIC for tax year 2016 or 2017. To claim the EIC on your
return for 2018, you must complete and attach Form 8862
to your return for that year.
Example 4. The facts are the same as in Example 3,
except that your 2015 EIC was not denied until after you
filed your 2016 return. You cannot claim the EIC for tax
year 2017 or 2018. To claim the EIC on your return for
2019 you must complete and attach Form 8862 to your re-
turn for that year.
Example 5—Cannot claim EIC for 10 years. You
claimed the EIC on your 2015 tax return, which you filed in
February 2016. The IRS determined you weren't entitled
to the EIC and that your error was due to fraud. In Sep-
tember 2016, you received a statutory notice of deficiency
telling you an adjustment would be made and tax as-
sessed unless you filed a petition with the Tax Court
within 90 days. You didn't act on this notice within 90
days. Therefore, your EIC was denied in December 2016.
You cannot claim the EIC for tax years 2016 through
2025. To claim the EIC on your return for 2026, you must
complete and attach Form 8862 to your return for that
year.
6.
Detailed Examples
The next few pages contain two detailed examples (with a
filled-in Schedule EIC and EIC Worksheet) that may be
helpful if you have questions about claiming the EIC.
Example 1—Sharon Rose
Sharon Rose is age 63 and retired. She received $7,000
in social security benefits during the year and $9,000 from
a part-time job. She also received a taxable pension of
$6,400. Sharon had no other income. Her AGI on line 22
of Form 1040A is $15,400 ($9,000 + $6,400).
Sharon isn't married and lived alone in the United
States for the entire year. She cannot be claimed as a de-
pendent on anyone else's return. She doesn't have any in-
vestment income and doesn't have a qualifying child.
Sharon reads the steps for eligibility in her Form 1040A
instructions. In Step 1 she discovers that, because her
AGI ($15,400) isn't less than $14,880, she cannot take the
EIC. She completes the rest of her Form 1040A and files it
with the IRS.
Example 2—Cynthia and Jerry
Grey
Cynthia and Jerry Grey have two children, Kirk, age 9, and
Susanne, age 7. The children lived with Cynthia and Jerry
for all of 2016. Cynthia earned wages of $15,000 and
Jerry had wages of $10,000. The Greys received $525 in
interest on their savings account. They had no other in-
come in 2016.
Cynthia and Jerry have the 2016 Form 1040A and in-
structions. They want to see if they qualify for the EIC, so
they follow the steps in the instructions for lines 42a and
42b.
Step 1. The amount Cynthia and Jerry entered on Form
1040A, line 22, was $25,525. They both have valid social
security numbers (SSNs), which they have had for many
years. They will file a joint return. Neither Cynthia nor Jerry
is a nonresident alien. Therefore, the answers they give to
the questions in Step 1 allow them to proceed to Step 2.
Step 2. The only investment income the Greys have is
their $525 interest income. That amount isn't more than
$3,400, so they answer “No” to the second question in
Step 2 and go to Step 3.
Step 3. Their children, Kirk and Susanne, meet the rela-
tionship, age, residency, and joint return tests to be Cyn-
thia and Jerry's qualifying children, so Cynthia and Jerry
Page 22 Chapter 6 Detailed Examples
answer “Yes” to the first question in Step 3. Kirk and Sus-
anne aren't qualifying children of anyone else. Both chil-
dren have valid SSNs, which they got soon after birth.
Cynthia and Jerry are filing a joint return, so they answer
“Yes” to the second question in Step 3. This means they
can skip question 3 and Step 4 and go to Step 5.
Step 5. Cynthia and Jerry figure their earned income to
be $25,000, the amount of their combined wages. This is
less than $50,198, so they go to Step 6 to figure their
credit.
Step 6. Cynthia and Jerry want to figure their EIC them-
selves, so they complete the EIC Worksheet in the Form
1040A instructions (shown later).
Completing the EIC Worksheet. Cynthia and Jerry
complete their worksheet as follows.
1. Cynthia and Jerry enter their total earned income
($25,000) on line 1.
2. To find their credit, they go to the EIC Table (shown
later in this publication). The part of the EIC Table
they use is included as part of this example. They find
their earned income of $25,000 in the range of
$25,000 to $25,050. They follow this line across to the
column Two children under Married filing jointly and
find $5,301. They enter $5,301 on line 2.
3. They enter on line 3 their AGI ($25,525) and see that
it is different from the amount on line 1.
4. They look up $25,525 in the EIC Table and enter the
amount of $5,196 on line 5.
5. They enter $5,196 on line 6. This is the smaller of the
line 2 amount ($5,301) and the line 5 amount
($5,196).
6. The Greys enter $5,196 on line 42a of their Form
1040A. They will now complete Schedule EIC (shown
later) and attach it to their return. They will keep the
EIC Worksheet for their records.
Excerpt from EIC Table for Example 2And your filing status is–
If the amount you are looking up
from the worksheet is– Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)
and you have– Married filing jointly and you have–
No Children One Child Two Children Three Children No Children One Child Two Children Three Children
At least But less than Your credit is– Your credit is–
25,000 25,050 0 2,281 4,133 4,829 0 3,167 5,301 5,998
25,050 25,100 0 2,273 4,122 4,819 0 3,159 5,291 5,987
25,100 25,150 0 2,265 4,111 4,808 0 3,151 5,280 5,977
25,150 25,200 0
25,200 25,250 0 2,249 4,090 4,787 0 3,135 5,259 5,956
25,250 25,300 0 2,241 4,080 4,776 0 3,128 5,249 5,945
25,300 25,350 0 2,233 4,069 4,766 0 3,120 5,238 5,935
25,350 25,400 0 2,225 4,059 4,755 0 3,112 5,228 5,924
25,400 25,450 0 2,217 4,048 4,745 0 3,104 5,217 5,914
25,450 25,500 0 2,209 4,038 4,734 0 3,096 5,207 5,903
25,500 25,550 0 2,201 4,027 4,724 0 3,088 5,196 5,893
25,550 25,600 0 2,193 4,017 4,713 0 3,080 5,186 5,882
25,600 25,650 0 2,185 4,006 4,703 0 3,072 5,175 5,872
25,650 25,700 0 2,177 3,996 4,692 0 3,064 5,164 5,861
25,700 25,750 0 2,169 3,985 4,682 0 3,056 5,154 5,850
25,750 25,800 0 2,161 3,975 4,671 0 3,048 5,143 5,840
2,257 4,101 4,797 0 3,143 5,270 5,966
Chapter 6 Detailed Examples Page 23
Filledin EIC Worksheet — Cynthia and Jerry GreyIf line 2 is zero, You cannot take the credit.
Enter “No” to the left of the entry space for line 42a.
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Worksheet—Lines 42a and 42b
1040A
Skip line 5; enter the amount from line 2 on line 6.Yes.
STOP
Keep for Your Records
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1Enter your earned income from Step 5.
Look up the amount on line 1 in the EIC Table
number of children you have. Enter the credit here.
Enter the amount from Form 1040A, line 22.
Are the amounts on lines 3 and 1 the same?
Go to line 5.No.
If you have:
Leave line 5 blank; enter the amount from line 2 on line 6.Yes.
No. Look up the amount on line 3 in the EIC Table to
the credit. Be sure you use the correct column for your
status and the number of children you have. Enter the credit here.
Enter this amount on
Form 1040A, line 42a.
6Part 3
Part 1
Part 2
All Filers
Filers Who
Answered
“No” on
Line 4
Your Earned
Income Credit
• No qualifying children, is the amount on line 3 less than $8,300
($13,850 if married jointly)?
• 1 or more qualifying children, is the amount on line 3 less than $18,200
($23,750 if married jointly)?
Look at the amounts on lines 5 and 2.
Then, enter the smaller amount on line 6.
6. This is your earned income credit.
Reminder—
If you have a qualifying child, complete and attach
Schedule EIC. EIC
1040A
CAUTION
◀
◀
✓
✓
25,000
5,301
25,525
5,196
5,196
If your EIC for a year after 1996 was reduced or disallowed, see
Form 8862, who must file, earlier, to find out if you must file
Form 8862 to take the credit for 2016.
Page 24 Chapter 6 Detailed Examples
Filledin Schedule EIC—Cynthia and Jerry GreySCHEDULE EIC
(Form 1040A or 1040)
2016
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service (99)
Earned Income Credit
Qualifying Child Information
▶ Complete and attach to Form 1040A or 1040 only if you have a qualifying child.
▶ Information about Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040) and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/scheduleeic.
1040A
. . . . . . . . . .
1040
EIC
◀ OMB No. 1545-0074
Attachment
Sequence No. 43
Name(s) shown on return Your social security number
Before you begin: • See the instructions for Form 1040A, lines 42a and 42b, or Form 1040, lines 66a and 66b, to make
sure that (a) you can take the EIC, and (b) you have a qualifying child.
• Be sure the child’s name on line 1 and social security number (SSN) on line 2 agree with the child’s social security card.
Otherwise, at the time we process your return, we may reduce or disallow your EIC. If the name or SSN on the child’s
social security card is not correct, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213.
▲!CAUTION
• You can't claim the EIC for a child who didn't live with you for more than half of the year.
• If you take the EIC even though you are not eligible, you may not be allowed to take the credit for up to 10 years. See the instructions for details.
• It will take us longer to process your return and issue your refund if you do not fill in all lines that apply for each qualifying child.
Qualifying Child Information Child 1 Child 2 Child 3
1 Child’s name
If you have more than three qualifying
children, you have to list only three to get
the maximum credit.
First name Last name First name Last name First name Last name
2 Child’s SSN
The child must have an SSN as defined in
the instructions for Form 1040A, lines 42a
and 42b, or Form 1040, lines 66a and 66b,
unless the child was born and died in
2016. If your child was born and died in
2016 and did not have an SSN, enter
“Died” on this line and attach a copy of
the child’s birth certificate, death
certificate, or hospital medical records.
3 Child’s year of birth Year
If born after 1997 and the child is
younger than you (or your spouse, if
filing jointly), skip lines 4a and 4b;
go to line 5.
Year
If born after 1997 and the child is
younger than you (or your spouse, if
filing jointly), skip lines 4a and 4b;
go to line 5.
Year
If born after 1997 and the child is
younger than you (or your spouse, if
filing jointly), skip lines 4a and 4b;
go to line 5.
4 a Was the child under age 24 at the end of
2016, a student, and younger than you (or
your spouse, if filing jointly)?
Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
Go to line 4b.
Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
Go to line 4b.
Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
Go to line 4b.
b Was the child permanently and totally
disabled during any part of 2016? Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
The child is not a
qualifying child.
Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
The child is not a
qualifying child.
Yes.
Go to
line 5.
No.
The child is not a
qualifying child.
5 Child’s relationship to you
(for example, son, daughter, grandchild,
niece, nephew, foster child, etc.)
6 Number of months child lived
with you in the United States
during 2016
• If the child lived with you for more than
half of 2016 but less than 7 months,
enter “7.”
• If the child was born or died in 2016 and
your home was the child’s home for more
than half the time he or she was alive
during 2016, enter “12.”
months
Do not enter more than 12
months.
months
Do not enter more than 12
months.
months
Do not enter more than 12
months.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see your tax
return instructions. Cat. No. 13339M Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040) 2016
Cynthia and Jerry Grey 333-00-5555
Kirk Grey Susanne Grey
123-00-5678 800-00-4321
2 0 0 7 2 0 0 9
son daughter
12 12
Chapter 6 Detailed Examples Page 25
7.
How To Get Tax Help
If you have questions about a tax issue, need help prepar-
ing your tax return, or want to download free publications,
forms, or instructions, go to IRS.gov and find resources
that can help you right away.
Preparing and filing your tax return. Find free options
to prepare and file your return on IRS.gov or in your local
community if you qualify.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program
offers free tax help to people who generally make $54,000
or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limi-
ted-English-speaking taxpayers who need help preparing
their own tax returns. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly
(TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, par-
ticularly those who are 60 years of age and older. TCE
volunteers specialize in answering questions about pen-
sions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.
You can go to IRS.gov and click on the Filing tab to see
your options for preparing and filing your return which in-
clude the following.
Free File. Go to IRS.gov/freefile. See if you qualify to
use brand-name software to prepare and efile your
federal tax return for free.
VITA. Go to IRS.gov/vita, download the free IRS2Go
app, or call 1-800-906-9887 to find the nearest VITA
location for free tax preparation.
TCE. Go to IRS.gov/tce, download the free IRS2Go
app, or call 1-888-227-7669 to find the nearest TCE
location for free tax preparation.
Getting answers to your tax law questions.
On IRS.gov get answers to your tax questions
anytime, anywhere.
Go to IRS.gov/help or IRS.gov/letushelp pages for a
variety of tools that will help you get answers to some
of the most common tax questions.
Go to IRS.gov/ita for the Interactive Tax Assistant, a
tool that will ask you questions on a number of tax law
topics and provide answers. You can print the entire
interview and the final response for your records.
Go to IRS.gov/pub17 to get Pub. 17, Your Federal In-
come Tax for Individuals, which features details on
tax-saving opportunities, 2016 tax changes, and thou-
sands of interactive links to help you find answers to
your questions. View it online in HTML or as a PDF or,
better yet, download it to your mobile device to enjoy
eBook features.
You may also be able to access tax law information in
your electronic filing software.
Getting tax forms and publications. Go to IRS.gov/
forms to view, download, or print all of the forms and pub-
lications you may need. You can also download and view
popular tax publications and instructions (including the
1040 instructions) on mobile devices as an eBook at no
charge. Or, you can go to IRS.gov/orderforms to place an
order and have forms mailed to you within 10 business
days.
Using direct deposit. The fastest way to receive a tax
refund is to combine direct deposit and IRS efile . Direct
deposit securely and electronically transfers your refund
directly into your financial account. Eight in 10 taxpayers
use direct deposit to receive their refund. IRS issues more
than 90% of refunds in less than 21 days.
Delayed refund for returns claiming certain credits.
Due to changes in the law, the IRS can’t issue refunds be-
fore February 15, 2017, for returns that claim the earned
income credit (EIC) or the additional child tax credit
(ACTC). This applies to the entire refund, not just the por-
tion associated with these credits.
Getting a transcript or copy of a return. The quickest
way to get a copy of your tax transcript is to go to IRS.gov/
transcripts. Click on either "Get Transcript Online" or "Get
Transcript by Mail" to order a copy of your transcript. If
you prefer, you can:
Order your transcript by calling 1-800-908-9946.
Mail Form 4506-T or Form 4506T-EZ (both available
on IRS.gov).
Using online tools to help prepare your return. Go to
IRS.gov/tools for the following.
The Earned Income Tax Credit Assistant (IRS.gov/eic)
determines if you are eligible for the EIC.
The Online EIN Application (IRS.gov/ein) helps you
get an employer identification number.
The IRS Withholding Calculator (IRS.gov/w4app) esti-
mates the amount you should have withheld from your
paycheck for federal income tax purposes.
The First Time Homebuyer Credit Account Lookup
(IRS.gov/homebuyer) tool provides information on
your repayments and account balance.
The Sales Tax Deduction Calculator (IRS.gov/
salestax) figures the amount you can claim if you item-
ize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), choose
not to claim state and local income taxes, and you
didn’t save your receipts showing the sales tax you
paid.
Resolving taxrelated identity theft issues.
The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by
email or telephone to request personal or financial in-
formation. This includes any type of electronic com-
munication, such as text messages and social media
channels.
Go to IRS.gov/idprotection for information and videos.
Page 26 Chapter 7 How To Get Tax Help
If your SSN has been lost or stolen or you suspect you
are a victim of tax-related identity theft, visit IRS.gov/id
to learn what steps you should take.
Checking on the status of your refund.
Go to IRS.gov/refunds.
Due to changes in the law, the IRS can’t issue refunds
before February 15, 2017, for returns that claim the
EIC or the ACTC. This applies to the entire refund, not
just the portion associated with these credits.
Download the official IRS2Go app to your mobile de-
vice to check your refund status.
Call the automated refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954.
Making a tax payment. The IRS uses the latest encryp-
tion technology to ensure your electronic payments are
safe and secure. You can make electronic payments on-
line, by phone, and from a mobile device using the
IRS2Go app. Paying electronically is quick, easy, and
faster than mailing in a check or money order. Go to
IRS.gov/payments to make a payment using any of the
following options.
IRS Direct Pay: Pay your individual tax bill or estima-
ted tax payment directly from your checking or sav-
ings account at no cost to you.
Debit or credit card: Choose an approved payment
processor to pay online, by phone, and by mobile de-
vice.
Electronic Funds Withdrawal: Offered only when fil-
ing your federal taxes using tax preparation software
or through a tax professional.
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System: Best op-
tion for businesses. Enrollment is required.
Check or money order: Mail your payment to the ad-
dress listed on the notice or instructions.
Cash: If cash is your only option, you may be able to
pay your taxes at a participating retail store.
What if I can’t pay now? Go to IRS.gov/payments for
more information about your options.
Apply for an online payment agreement (IRS.gov/opa)
to meet your tax obligation in monthly installments if
you can’t pay your taxes in full today. Once you com-
plete the online process, you will receive immediate
notification of whether your agreement has been ap-
proved.
Use the Offer in Compromise PreQualifier (IRS.gov/
oic) to see if you can settle your tax debt for less than
the full amount you owe.
Checking the status of an amended return. Go to
IRS.gov and click on Where’s My Amended Return?
(IRS.gov/wmar) under the “Tools” bar to track the status of
Form 1040X amended returns. Please note that it can
take up to 3 weeks from the date you mailed your amen-
ded return for it show up in our system and processing it
can take up to 16 weeks.
Understanding an IRS notice or letter. Go to IRS.gov/
notices to find additional information about responding to
an IRS notice or letter.
Contacting your local IRS office. Keep in mind, many
questions can be resolved on IRS.gov without visiting an
IRS Tax Assistance Center (TAC). Go to IRS.gov/
letushelp for the topics people ask about most. If you still
need help, IRS TACs provide tax help when a tax issue
can’t be handled online or by phone. All TACs now pro-
vide service by appointment so you’ll know in advance
that you can get the service you need without waiting. Be-
fore you visit, go to IRS.gov/taclocator to find the nearest
TAC, check hours, available services, and appointment
options. Or, on the IRS2Go app, under the Stay Connec-
ted tab, choose the Contact Us option and click on “Local
Offices.”
Watching IRS videos. The IRS Video portal
(IRSvideos.gov) contains video and audio presentations
for individuals, small businesses, and tax professionals.
Getting tax information in other languages. For tax-
payers whose native language isn’t English, we have the
following resources available. Taxpayers can find informa-
tion on IRS.gov in the following languages.
Spanish (IRS.gov/spanish).
Chinese (IRS.gov/chinese).
Vietnamese (IRS.gov/vietnamese).
Korean (IRS.gov/korean).
Russian (IRS.gov/russian).
The IRS TACs provide over-the-phone interpreter serv-
ice in over 170 languages, and the service is available
free to taxpayers.
The Taxpayer Advocate
Service Is Here To Help You
What is the Taxpayer Advocate
Service?
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independ
ent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and
protects taxpayer rights. Our job is to ensure that every
taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and under-
stand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
What Can the Taxpayer Advocate
Service Do For You?
We can help you resolve problems that you can’t resolve
with the IRS. And our service is free. If you qualify for our
assistance, you will be assigned to one advocate who will
Chapter 7 How To Get Tax Help Page 27
work with you throughout the process and will do every-
thing possible to resolve your issue. TAS can help you if:
Your problem is causing financial difficulty for you,
your family, or your business,
You face (or your business is facing) an immediate
threat of adverse action, or
You’ve tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one
has responded, or the IRS hasn’t responded by the
date promised.
How Can You Reach Us?
We have offices in every state, the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico. Your local advocate’s number is in your
local directory and at taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov. You can
also call us at 1-877-777-4778.
How Can You Learn About Your
Taxpayer Rights?
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes 10 basic rights that
all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Our Tax
Toolkit at taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov can help you under-
stand what these rights mean to you and how they apply.
These are your rights. Know them. Use them.
How Else Does the Taxpayer
Advocate Service Help Taxpayers?
TAS works to resolve large-scale problems that affect
many taxpayers. If you know of one of these broad issues,
please report it to us at IRS.gov/sams.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) serve individuals
whose income is below a certain level and need to resolve
tax problems such as audits, appeals, and tax collection
disputes. Some clinics can provide information about tax-
payer rights and responsibilities in different languages for
individuals who speak English as a second language. To
find a clinic near you, visit IRS.gov/litc or see IRS Publica-
tion 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List.
Page 28 Publication 596 (2016)
EIC Eligibility Checklist Keep for Your Records
You may claim the EIC if you answer “Yes” to all the following questions.*
Yes No
1. Is your AGI less than:
$14,880 ($20,430 for married filing jointly) if you don't have a qualifying child,
$39,296 ($44,846 for married filing jointly) if you have one qualifying child,
$44,648 ($50,198 for married filing jointly) if you have two qualifying children, or
$47,955 ($53,505 for married filing jointly) if you have more than two qualifying children?
(See Rule 1.)
2. Do you and your spouse each have a valid SSN that you got by the due date of your 2016 return (including
extensions)? (See Rule 2.)
3. Is your filing status married filing jointly, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or single? (See Rule 3.)
Caution: If you or your spouse is a nonresident alien, answer “Yes” only if your filing status is married filing jointly.
(See Rule 4.)
4. Answer “Yes” if you aren't filing Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ. Otherwise, answer “No.” (See Rule 5.)
5. Is your investment income $3,400 or less? (See Rule 6.)
6. Is your total earned income at least $1 but less than:
$14,880 ($20,430 for married filing jointly) if you don't have a qualifying child,
$39,296 ($44,846 for married filing jointly) if you have one qualifying child,
$44,648 ($50,198 for married filing jointly) if you have two qualifying children, or
$47,955 ($53,505 for married filing jointly) if you have more than two qualifying children?
(See Rules 7 and 15.)
7. Answer “Yes” if (a) you aren't a qualifying child of another taxpayer or (b) you are filing a joint return. Otherwise,
answer “No.” (See Rules 10 and 13.)
STOP: If you have a qualifying child, answer questions 8 and 9 and skip 10–12. If you don't have a
qualifying child, skip questions 8 and 9 and answer 10–12.*
8. Does your child meet the relationship, age, residency, and joint return tests for a qualifying child and have a valid
SSN that he or she got by the due date of your 2016 return (including extensions)? (See Rule 8.)
9. Is your child a qualifying child only for you? Answer “Yes” if (a) your qualifying child doesn't meet the tests to be a
qualifying child of any other person or (b) your qualifying child meets the tests to be a qualifying child of another
person but you are the person entitled to treat the child as a qualifying child under the tiebreaker rules explained in
Rule 9. Answer “No” if the other person is the one entitled to treat the child as a qualifying child under the
tiebreaker rules.
10. Were you (or your spouse if filing a joint return) at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of 2016? (See Rule 11.)
11. Answer “Yes” if (a) you cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return or (b) you are filing a joint
return. Otherwise, answer “No.” (See Rule 12.)
12. Was your main home (and your spouse's if filing a joint return) in the United States for more than half the year? (See
Rule 14.)
*PERSONS WITH A QUALIFYING CHILD: If you answered “Yes” to questions 1 through 9, you can claim the EIC. (If you have
more than one child, you can claim the EIC as long as you answer “Yes” to questions 1 through 7 and can answer “Yes” to
questions 8 and 9 for at least one child.) Remember to fill out Schedule EIC and attach it to your Form 1040 or Form 1040A. You
cannot use Form 1040EZ. If you answered “Yes” to questions 1 through 7 and “No” to question 8, answer questions 10 through 12
to see if you can claim the EIC without a qualifying child.
PERSONS WITHOUT A QUALIFYING CHILD: If you answered “Yes” to questions 1 through 7, and 10 through 12, you can claim
the EIC.
If you answered “No” to any question that applies to you: You cannot claim the EIC.
Publication 596 (2016) Page 29
2016 Earned Income Credit (EIC)
Table
Caution. This is not a tax table.At least
Your credit is—
And your filing status is—
If the amount you are
looking up from the
worksheet is—
Single, head of household, or
qualifying widow(er) and
the number of children you have is—
2,400 186 825 970
2,450
2,450
2,500 189 842 990
1,091
1,114
But less
than
1. To find your credit, read
down the “At least - But
less than” columns and
find the line that includes
the amount you were told
to look up from your EIC
Worksheet.
2. Then, go to the column
that includes your filing
status and the number of
qualifying children you
have. Enter the credit
from that column on your
EIC Worksheet.
Example. If your filing
status is single, you have
one qualifying child, and
the amount you are
looking up from your EIC
Worksheet is $2,455,
you would enter $842.
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
$1 $50 $2 $9 $10 $11 $2 $9 $10 $11
50 100 6 26 30 34 6 26 30 34
100 150 10 43 50 56 10 43 50 56
150 200 13 60 70 79 13 60 70 79
200 250 17 77 90 101 17 77 90 101
250 300 21 94 110 124 21 94 110 124
300 350 25 111 130 146 25 111 130 146
350 400 29 128 150 169 29 128 150 169
400 450 33 145 170 191 33 145 170 191
450 500 36 162 190 214 36 162 190 214
500 550 40 179 210 236 40 179 210 236
550 600 44 196 230 259 44 196 230 259
600 650 48 213 250 281 48 213 250 281
650 700 52 230 270 304 52 230 270 304
700 750 55 247 290 326 55 247 290 326
750 800 59 264 310 349 59 264 310 349
800 850 63 281 330 371 63 281 330 371
850 900 67 298 350 394 67 298 350 394
900 950 71 315 370 416 71 315 370 416
950 1,000 75 332 390 439 75 332 390 439
1,000 1,050 78 349 410 461 78 349 410 461
1,050 1,100 82 366 430 484 82 366 430 484
1,100 1,150 86 383 450 506 86 383 450 506
1,150 1,200 90 400 470 529 90 400 470 529
1,200 1,250 94 417 490 551 94 417 490 551
1,250 1,300 98 434 510 574 98 434 510 574
1,300 1,350 101 451 530 596 101 451 530 596
1,350 1,400 105 468 550 619 105 468 550 619
1,400 1,450 109 485 570 641 109 485 570 641
1,450 1,500 113 502 590 664 113 502 590 664
1,500 1,550 117 519 610 686 117 519 610 686
1,550 1,600 120 536 630 709 120 536 630 709
1,600 1,650 124 553 650 731 124 553 650 731
1,650 1,700 128 570 670 754 128 570 670 754
1,700 1,750 132 587 690 776 132 587 690 776
1,750 1,800 136 604 710 799 136 604 710 799
1,800 1,850 140 621 730 821 140 621 730 821
1,850 1,900 143 638 750 844 143 638 750 844
1,900 1,950 147 655 770 866 147 655 770 866
1,950 2,000 151 672 790 889 151 672 790 889
2,000 2,050 155 689 810 911 155 689 810 911
2,050 2,100 159 706 830 934 159 706 830 934
2,100 2,150 163 723 850 956 163 723 850 956
2,150 2,200 166 740 870 979 166 740 870 979
2,200 2,250 170 757 890 1,001 170 757 890 1,001
2,250 2,300 174 774 910 1,024 174 774 910 1,024
2,300 2,350 178 791 930 1,046 178 791 930 1,046
2,350 2,400 182 808 950 1,069 182 808 950 1,069
2,400 2,450 186 825 970 1,091 186 825 970 1,091
2,450 2,500 189 842 990 1,114 189 842 990 1,114
2,500 2,550 193 859 1,010 1,136 193 859 1,010 1,136
2,550 2,600 197 876 1,030 1,159 197 876 1,030 1,159
2,600 2,650 201 893 1,050 1,181 201 893 1,050 1,181
2,650 2,700 205 910 1,070 1,204 205 910 1,070 1,204
2,700 2,750 208 927 1,090 1,226 208 927 1,090 1,226
2,750 2,800 212 944 1,110 1,249 212 944 1,110 1,249
2,800 2,850 216 961 1,130 1,271 216 961 1,130 1,271
2,850 2,900 220 978 1,150 1,294 220 978 1,150 1,294
2,900 2,950 224 995 1,170 1,316 224 995 1,170 1,316
2,950 3,000 228 1,012 1,190 1,339 228 1,012 1,190 1,339
3,000 3,050 231 1,029 1,210 1,361 231 1,029 1,210 1,361
3,050 3,100 235 1,046 1,230 1,384 235 1,046 1,230 1,384
3,100 3,150 239 1,063 1,250 1,406 239 1,063 1,250 1,406
3,150 3,200 243 1,080 1,270 1,429 243 1,080 1,270 1,429
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
3,200 3,250 247 1,097 1,290 1,451 247 1,097 1,290 1,451
3,250 3,300 251 1,114 1,310 1,474 251 1,114 1,310 1,474
3,300 3,350 254 1,131 1,330 1,496 254 1,131 1,330 1,496
3,350 3,400 258 1,148 1,350 1,519 258 1,148 1,350 1,519
3,400 3,450 262 1,165 1,370 1,541 262 1,165 1,370 1,541
3,450 3,500 266 1,182 1,390 1,564 266 1,182 1,390 1,564
3,500 3,550 270 1,199 1,410 1,586 270 1,199 1,410 1,586
3,550 3,600 273 1,216 1,430 1,609 273 1,216 1,430 1,609
3,600 3,650 277 1,233 1,450 1,631 277 1,233 1,450 1,631
3,650 3,700 281 1,250 1,470 1,654 281 1,250 1,470 1,654
3,700 3,750 285 1,267 1,490 1,676 285 1,267 1,490 1,676
3,750 3,800 289 1,284 1,510 1,699 289 1,284 1,510 1,699
3,800 3,850 293 1,301 1,530 1,721 293 1,301 1,530 1,721
3,850 3,900 296 1,318 1,550 1,744 296 1,318 1,550 1,744
3,900 3,950 300 1,335 1,570 1,766 300 1,335 1,570 1,766
3,950 4,000 304 1,352 1,590 1,789 304 1,352 1,590 1,789
4,000 4,050 308 1,369 1,610 1,811 308 1,369 1,610 1,811
4,050 4,100 312 1,386 1,630 1,834 312 1,386 1,630 1,834
4,100 4,150 316 1,403 1,650 1,856 316 1,403 1,650 1,856
4,150 4,200 319 1,420 1,670 1,879 319 1,420 1,670 1,879
4,200 4,250 323 1,437 1,690 1,901 323 1,437 1,690 1,901
4,250 4,300 327 1,454 1,710 1,924 327 1,454 1,710 1,924
4,300 4,350 331 1,471 1,730 1,946 331 1,471 1,730 1,946
4,350 4,400 335 1,488 1,750 1,969 335 1,488 1,750 1,969
4,400 4,450 339 1,505 1,770 1,991 339 1,505 1,770 1,991
4,450 4,500 342 1,522 1,790 2,014 342 1,522 1,790 2,014
4,500 4,550 346 1,539 1,810 2,036 346 1,539 1,810 2,036
4,550 4,600 350 1,556 1,830 2,059 350 1,556 1,830 2,059
4,600 4,650 354 1,573 1,850 2,081 354 1,573 1,850 2,081
4,650 4,700 358 1,590 1,870 2,104 358 1,590 1,870 2,104
4,700 4,750 361 1,607 1,890 2,126 361 1,607 1,890 2,126
4,750 4,800 365 1,624 1,910 2,149 365 1,624 1,910 2,149
4,800 4,850 369 1,641 1,930 2,171 369 1,641 1,930 2,171
4,850 4,900 373 1,658 1,950 2,194 373 1,658 1,950 2,194
4,900 4,950 377 1,675 1,970 2,216 377 1,675 1,970 2,216
4,950 5,000 381 1,692 1,990 2,239 381 1,692 1,990 2,239
5,000 5,050 384 1,709 2,010 2,261 384 1,709 2,010 2,261
5,050 5,100 388 1,726 2,030 2,284 388 1,726 2,030 2,284
5,100 5,150 392 1,743 2,050 2,306 392 1,743 2,050 2,306
5,150 5,200 396 1,760 2,070 2,329 396 1,760 2,070 2,329
5,200 5,250 400 1,777 2,090 2,351 400 1,777 2,090 2,351
5,250 5,300 404 1,794 2,110 2,374 404 1,794 2,110 2,374
5,300 5,350 407 1,811 2,130 2,396 407 1,811 2,130 2,396
5,350 5,400 411 1,828 2,150 2,419 411 1,828 2,150 2,419
5,400 5,450 415 1,845 2,170 2,441 415 1,845 2,170 2,441
5,450 5,500 419 1,862 2,190 2,464 419 1,862 2,190 2,464
5,500 5,550 423 1,879 2,210 2,486 423 1,879 2,210 2,486
5,550 5,600 426 1,896 2,230 2,509 426 1,896 2,230 2,509
5,600 5,650 430 1,913 2,250 2,531 430 1,913 2,250 2,531
5,650 5,700 434 1,930 2,270 2,554 434 1,930 2,270 2,554
5,700 5,750 438 1,947 2,290 2,576 438 1,947 2,290 2,576
5,750 5,800 442 1,964 2,310 2,599 442 1,964 2,310 2,599
5,800 5,850 446 1,981 2,330 2,621 446 1,981 2,330 2,621
5,850 5,900 449 1,998 2,350 2,644 449 1,998 2,350 2,644
5,900 5,950 453 2,015 2,370 2,666 453 2,015 2,370 2,666
5,950 6,000 457 2,032 2,390 2,689 457 2,032 2,390 2,689
6,000 6,050 461 2,049 2,410 2,711 461 2,049 2,410 2,711
6,050 6,100 465 2,066 2,430 2,734 465 2,066 2,430 2,734
6,100 6,150 469 2,083 2,450 2,756 469 2,083 2,450 2,756
6,150 6,200 472 2,100 2,470 2,779 472 2,100 2,470 2,779
6,200 6,250 476 2,117 2,490 2,801 476 2,117 2,490 2,801
6,250 6,300 480 2,134 2,510 2,824 480 2,134 2,510 2,824
6,300 6,350 484 2,151 2,530 2,846 484 2,151 2,530 2,846
6,350 6,400 488 2,168 2,550 2,869 488 2,168 2,550 2,869
(Continued)
Page 30 Publication 596 (2016)
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
6,400 6,450 492 2,185 2,570 2,891 492 2,185 2,570 2,891
6,450 6,500 495 2,202 2,590 2,914 495 2,202 2,590 2,914
6,500 6,550 499 2,219 2,610 2,936 499 2,219 2,610 2,936
6,550 6,600 503 2,236 2,630 2,959 503 2,236 2,630 2,959
6,600 6,650 506 2,253 2,650 2,981 506 2,253 2,650 2,981
6,650 6,700 506 2,270 2,670 3,004 506 2,270 2,670 3,004
6,700 6,750 506 2,287 2,690 3,026 506 2,287 2,690 3,026
6,750 6,800 506 2,304 2,710 3,049 506 2,304 2,710 3,049
6,800 6,850 506 2,321 2,730 3,071 506 2,321 2,730 3,071
6,850 6,900 506 2,338 2,750 3,094 506 2,338 2,750 3,094
6,900 6,950 506 2,355 2,770 3,116 506 2,355 2,770 3,116
6,950 7,000 506 2,372 2,790 3,139 506 2,372 2,790 3,139
7,000 7,050 506 2,389 2,810 3,161 506 2,389 2,810 3,161
7,050 7,100 506 2,406 2,830 3,184 506 2,406 2,830 3,184
7,100 7,150 506 2,423 2,850 3,206 506 2,423 2,850 3,206
7,150 7,200 506 2,440 2,870 3,229 506 2,440 2,870 3,229
7,200 7,250 506 2,457 2,890 3,251 506 2,457 2,890 3,251
7,250 7,300 506 2,474 2,910 3,274 506 2,474 2,910 3,274
7,300 7,350 506 2,491 2,930 3,296 506 2,491 2,930 3,296
7,350 7,400 506 2,508 2,950 3,319 506 2,508 2,950 3,319
7,400 7,450 506 2,525 2,970 3,341 506 2,525 2,970 3,341
7,450 7,500 506 2,542 2,990 3,364 506 2,542 2,990 3,364
7,500 7,550 506 2,559 3,010 3,386 506 2,559 3,010 3,386
7,550 7,600 506 2,576 3,030 3,409 506 2,576 3,030 3,409
7,600 7,650 506 2,593 3,050 3,431 506 2,593 3,050 3,431
7,650 7,700 506 2,610 3,070 3,454 506 2,610 3,070 3,454
7,700 7,750 506 2,627 3,090 3,476 506 2,627 3,090 3,476
7,750 7,800 506 2,644 3,110 3,499 506 2,644 3,110 3,499
7,800 7,850 506 2,661 3,130 3,521 506 2,661 3,130 3,521
7,850 7,900 506 2,678 3,150 3,544 506 2,678 3,150 3,544
7,900 7,950 506 2,695 3,170 3,566 506 2,695 3,170 3,566
7,950 8,000 506 2,712 3,190 3,589 506 2,712 3,190 3,589
8,000 8,050 506 2,729 3,210 3,611 506 2,729 3,210 3,611
8,050 8,100 506 2,746 3,230 3,634 506 2,746 3,230 3,634
8,100 8,150 506 2,763 3,250 3,656 506 2,763 3,250 3,656
8,150 8,200 506 2,780 3,270 3,679 506 2,780 3,270 3,679
8,200 8,250 506 2,797 3,290 3,701 506 2,797 3,290 3,701
8,250 8,300 506 2,814 3,310 3,724 506 2,814 3,310 3,724
8,300 8,350 501 2,831 3,330 3,746 506 2,831 3,330 3,746
8,350 8,400 498 2,848 3,350 3,769 506 2,848 3,350 3,769
8,400 8,450 494 2,865 3,370 3,791 506 2,865 3,370 3,791
8,450 8,500 490 2,882 3,390 3,814 506 2,882 3,390 3,814
8,500 8,550 486 2,899 3,410 3,836 506 2,899 3,410 3,836
8,550 8,600 482 2,916 3,430 3,859 506 2,916 3,430 3,859
8,600 8,650 479 2,933 3,450 3,881 506 2,933 3,450 3,881
8,650 8,700 475 2,950 3,470 3,904 506 2,950 3,470 3,904
8,700 8,750 471 2,967 3,490 3,926 506 2,967 3,490 3,926
8,750 8,800 467 2,984 3,510 3,949 506 2,984 3,510 3,949
8,800 8,850 463 3,001 3,530 3,971 506 3,001 3,530 3,971
8,850 8,900 459 3,018 3,550 3,994 506 3,018 3,550 3,994
8,900 8,950 456 3,035 3,570 4,016 506 3,035 3,570 4,016
8,950 9,000 452 3,052 3,590 4,039 506 3,052 3,590 4,039
9,000 9,050 448 3,069 3,610 4,061 506 3,069 3,610 4,061
9,050 9,100 444 3,086 3,630 4,084 506 3,086 3,630 4,084
9,100 9,150 440 3,103 3,650 4,106 506 3,103 3,650 4,106
9,150 9,200 436 3,120 3,670 4,129 506 3,120 3,670 4,129
9,200 9,250 433 3,137 3,690 4,151 506 3,137 3,690 4,151
9,250 9,300 429 3,154 3,710 4,174 506 3,154 3,710 4,174
9,300 9,350 425 3,171 3,730 4,196 506 3,171 3,730 4,196
9,350 9,400 421 3,188 3,750 4,219 506 3,188 3,750 4,219
9,400 9,450 417 3,205 3,770 4,241 506 3,205 3,770 4,241
9,450 9,500 413 3,222 3,790 4,264 506 3,222 3,790 4,264
9,500 9,550 410 3,239 3,810 4,286 506 3,239 3,810 4,286
9,550 9,600 406 3,256 3,830 4,309 506 3,256 3,830 4,309
9,600 9,650 402 3,273 3,850 4,331 506 3,273 3,850 4,331
9,650 9,700 398 3,290 3,870 4,354 506 3,290 3,870 4,354
9,700 9,750 394 3,307 3,890 4,376 506 3,307 3,890 4,376
9,750 9,800 391 3,324 3,910 4,399 506 3,324 3,910 4,399
9,800 9,850 387 3,341 3,930 4,421 506 3,341 3,930 4,421
9,850 9,900 383 3,358 3,950 4,444 506 3,358 3,950 4,444
9,900 9,950 379 3,373 3,970 4,466 506 3,373 3,970 4,466
9,950 10,000 375 3,373 3,990 4,489 506 3,373 3,990 4,489
10,000 10,050 371 3,373 4,010 4,511 506 3,373 4,010 4,511
10,050 10,100 368 3,373 4,030 4,534 506 3,373 4,030 4,534
10,100 10,150 364 3,373 4,050 4,556 506 3,373 4,050 4,556
10,150 10,200 360 3,373 4,070 4,579 506 3,373 4,070 4,579
10,200 10,250 356 3,373 4,090 4,601 506 3,373 4,090 4,601
10,250 10,300 352 3,373 4,110 4,624 506 3,373 4,110 4,624
10,300 10,350 348 3,373 4,130 4,646 506 3,373 4,130 4,646
10,350 10,400 345 3,373 4,150 4,669 506 3,373 4,150 4,669
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
10,400 10,450 341 3,373 4,170 4,691 506 3,373 4,170 4,691
10,450 10,500 337 3,373 4,190 4,714 506 3,373 4,190 4,714
10,500 10,550 333 3,373 4,210 4,736 506 3,373 4,210 4,736
10,550 10,600 329 3,373 4,230 4,759 506 3,373 4,230 4,759
10,600 10,650 326 3,373 4,250 4,781 506 3,373 4,250 4,781
10,650 10,700 322 3,373 4,270 4,804 506 3,373 4,270 4,804
10,700 10,750 318 3,373 4,290 4,826 506 3,373 4,290 4,826
10,750 10,800 314 3,373 4,310 4,849 506 3,373 4,310 4,849
10,800 10,850 310 3,373 4,330 4,871 506 3,373 4,330 4,871
10,850 10,900 306 3,373 4,350 4,894 506 3,373 4,350 4,894
10,900 10,950 303 3,373 4,370 4,916 506 3,373 4,370 4,916
10,950 11,000 299 3,373 4,390 4,939 506 3,373 4,390 4,939
11,000 11,050 295 3,373 4,410 4,961 506 3,373 4,410 4,961
11,050 11,100 291 3,373 4,430 4,984 506 3,373 4,430 4,984
11,100 11,150 287 3,373 4,450 5,006 506 3,373 4,450 5,006
11,150 11,200 283 3,373 4,470 5,029 506 3,373 4,470 5,029
11,200 11,250 280 3,373 4,490 5,051 506 3,373 4,490 5,051
11,250 11,300 276 3,373 4,510 5,074 506 3,373 4,510 5,074
11,300 11,350 272 3,373 4,530 5,096 506 3,373 4,530 5,096
11,350 11,400 268 3,373 4,550 5,119 506 3,373 4,550 5,119
11,400 11,450 264 3,373 4,570 5,141 506 3,373 4,570 5,141
11,450 11,500 260 3,373 4,590 5,164 506 3,373 4,590 5,164
11,500 11,550 257 3,373 4,610 5,186 506 3,373 4,610 5,186
11,550 11,600 253 3,373 4,630 5,209 506 3,373 4,630 5,209
11,600 11,650 249 3,373 4,650 5,231 506 3,373 4,650 5,231
11,650 11,700 245 3,373 4,670 5,254 506 3,373 4,670 5,254
11,700 11,750 241 3,373 4,690 5,276 506 3,373 4,690 5,276
11,750 11,800 238 3,373 4,710 5,299 506 3,373 4,710 5,299
11,800 11,850 234 3,373 4,730 5,321 506 3,373 4,730 5,321
11,850 11,900 230 3,373 4,750 5,344 506 3,373 4,750 5,344
11,900 11,950 226 3,373 4,770 5,366 506 3,373 4,770 5,366
11,950 12,000 222 3,373 4,790 5,389 506 3,373 4,790 5,389
12,000 12,050 218 3,373 4,810 5,411 506 3,373 4,810 5,411
12,050 12,100 215 3,373 4,830 5,434 506 3,373 4,830 5,434
12,100 12,150 211 3,373 4,850 5,456 506 3,373 4,850 5,456
12,150 12,200 207 3,373 4,870 5,479 506 3,373 4,870 5,479
12,200 12,250 203 3,373 4,890 5,501 506 3,373 4,890 5,501
12,250 12,300 199 3,373 4,910 5,524 506 3,373 4,910 5,524
12,300 12,350 195 3,373 4,930 5,546 506 3,373 4,930 5,546
12,350 12,400 192 3,373 4,950 5,569 506 3,373 4,950 5,569
12,400 12,450 188 3,373 4,970 5,591 506 3,373 4,970 5,591
12,450 12,500 184 3,373 4,990 5,614 506 3,373 4,990 5,614
12,500 12,550 180 3,373 5,010 5,636 506 3,373 5,010 5,636
12,550 12,600 176 3,373 5,030 5,659 506 3,373 5,030 5,659
12,600 12,650 173 3,373 5,050 5,681 506 3,373 5,050 5,681
12,650 12,700 169 3,373 5,070 5,704 506 3,373 5,070 5,704
12,700 12,750 165 3,373 5,090 5,726 506 3,373 5,090 5,726
12,750 12,800 161 3,373 5,110 5,749 506 3,373 5,110 5,749
12,800 12,850 157 3,373 5,130 5,771 506 3,373 5,130 5,771
12,850 12,900 153 3,373 5,150 5,794 506 3,373 5,150 5,794
12,900 12,950 150 3,373 5,170 5,816 506 3,373 5,170 5,816
12,950 13,000 146 3,373 5,190 5,839 506 3,373 5,190 5,839
13,000 13,050 142 3,373 5,210 5,861 506 3,373 5,210 5,861
13,050 13,100 138 3,373 5,230 5,884 506 3,373 5,230 5,884
13,100 13,150 134 3,373 5,250 5,906 506 3,373 5,250 5,906
13,150 13,200 130 3,373 5,270 5,929 506 3,373 5,270 5,929
13,200 13,250 127 3,373 5,290 5,951 506 3,373 5,290 5,951
13,250 13,300 123 3,373 5,310 5,974 506 3,373 5,310 5,974
13,300 13,350 119 3,373 5,330 5,996 506 3,373 5,330 5,996
13,350 13,400 115 3,373 5,350 6,019 506 3,373 5,350 6,019
13,400 13,450 111 3,373 5,370 6,041 506 3,373 5,370 6,041
13,450 13,500 107 3,373 5,390 6,064 506 3,373 5,390 6,064
13,500 13,550 104 3,373 5,410 6,086 506 3,373 5,410 6,086
13,550 13,600 100 3,373 5,430 6,109 506 3,373 5,430 6,109
13,600 13,650 96 3,373 5,450 6,131 506 3,373 5,450 6,131
13,650 13,700 92 3,373 5,470 6,154 506 3,373 5,470 6,154
13,700 13,750 88 3,373 5,490 6,176 506 3,373 5,490 6,176
13,750 13,800 85 3,373 5,510 6,199 506 3,373 5,510 6,199
13,800 13,850 81 3,373 5,530 6,221 506 3,373 5,530 6,221
13,850 13,900 77 3,373 5,550 6,244 501 3,373 5,550 6,244
13,900 13,950 73 3,373 5,572 6,269 498 3,373 5,572 6,269
13,950 14,000 69 3,373 5,572 6,269 494 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,000 14,050 65 3,373 5,572 6,269 490 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,050 14,100 62 3,373 5,572 6,269 486 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,100 14,150 58 3,373 5,572 6,269 482 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,150 14,200 54 3,373 5,572 6,269 479 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,200 14,250 50 3,373 5,572 6,269 475 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,250 14,300 46 3,373 5,572 6,269 471 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,300 14,350 42 3,373 5,572 6,269 467 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,350 14,400 39 3,373 5,572 6,269 463 3,373 5,572 6,269
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
(Continued)
Publication 596 (2016) Page 31
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
14,400 14,450 35 3,373 5,572 6,269 459 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,450 14,500 31 3,373 5,572 6,269 456 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,500 14,550 27 3,373 5,572 6,269 452 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,550 14,600 23 3,373 5,572 6,269 448 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,600 14,650 20 3,373 5,572 6,269 444 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,650 14,700 16 3,373 5,572 6,269 440 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,700 14,750 12 3,373 5,572 6,269 436 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,750 14,800 8 3,373 5,572 6,269 433 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,800 14,850 4 3,373 5,572 6,269 429 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,850 14,900 * 3,373 5,572 6,269 425 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,900 14,950 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 421 3,373 5,572 6,269
14,950 15,000 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 417 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,000 15,050 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 413 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,050 15,100 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 410 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,100 15,150 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 406 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,150 15,200 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 402 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,200 15,250 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 398 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,250 15,300 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 394 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,300 15,350 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 391 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,350 15,400 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 387 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,400 15,450 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 383 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,450 15,500 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 379 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,500 15,550 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 375 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,550 15,600 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 371 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,600 15,650 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 368 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,650 15,700 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 364 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,700 15,750 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 360 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,750 15,800 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 356 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,800 15,850 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 352 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,850 15,900 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 348 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,900 15,950 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 345 3,373 5,572 6,269
15,950 16,000 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 341 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,000 16,050 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 337 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,050 16,100 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 333 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,100 16,150 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 329 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,150 16,200 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 326 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,200 16,250 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 322 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,250 16,300 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 318 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,300 16,350 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 314 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,350 16,400 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 310 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,400 16,450 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 306 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,450 16,500 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 303 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,500 16,550 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 299 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,550 16,600 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 295 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,600 16,650 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 291 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,650 16,700 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 287 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,700 16,750 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 283 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,750 16,800 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 280 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,800 16,850 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 276 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,850 16,900 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 272 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,900 16,950 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 268 3,373 5,572 6,269
16,950 17,000 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 264 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,000 17,050 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 260 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,050 17,100 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 257 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,100 17,150 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 253 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,150 17,200 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 249 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,200 17,250 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 245 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,250 17,300 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 241 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,300 17,350 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 238 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,350 17,400 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 234 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,400 17,450 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 230 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,450 17,500 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 226 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,500 17,550 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 222 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,550 17,600 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 218 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,600 17,650 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 215 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,650 17,700 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 211 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,700 17,750 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 207 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,750 17,800 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 203 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,800 17,850 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 199 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,850 17,900 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 195 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,900 17,950 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 192 3,373 5,572 6,269
17,950 18,000 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 188 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,000 18,050 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 184 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,050 18,100 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 180 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,100 18,150 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 176 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,150 18,200 0 3,373 5,572 6,269 173 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,200 18,250 0 3,367 5,565 6,261 169 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,250 18,300 0 3,359 5,554 6,251 165 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,300 18,350 0 3,351 5,544 6,240 161 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,350 18,400 0 3,343 5,533 6,230 157 3,373 5,572 6,269
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
18,400 18,450 0 3,335 5,523 6,219 153 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,450 18,500 0 3,327 5,512 6,208 150 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,500 18,550 0 3,319 5,501 6,198 146 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,550 18,600 0 3,311 5,491 6,187 142 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,600 18,650 0 3,303 5,480 6,177 138 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,650 18,700 0 3,295 5,470 6,166 134 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,700 18,750 0 3,287 5,459 6,156 130 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,750 18,800 0 3,279 5,449 6,145 127 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,800 18,850 0 3,271 5,438 6,135 123 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,850 18,900 0 3,263 5,428 6,124 119 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,900 18,950 0 3,255 5,417 6,114 115 3,373 5,572 6,269
18,950 19,000 0 3,247 5,407 6,103 111 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,000 19,050 0 3,239 5,396 6,093 107 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,050 19,100 0 3,231 5,386 6,082 104 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,100 19,150 0 3,223 5,375 6,072 100 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,150 19,200 0 3,215 5,365 6,061 96 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,200 19,250 0 3,207 5,354 6,051 92 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,250 19,300 0 3,199 5,343 6,040 88 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,300 19,350 0 3,191 5,333 6,029 85 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,350 19,400 0 3,183 5,322 6,019 81 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,400 19,450 0 3,175 5,312 6,008 77 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,450 19,500 0 3,167 5,301 5,998 73 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,500 19,550 0 3,159 5,291 5,987 69 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,550 19,600 0 3,151 5,280 5,977 65 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,600 19,650 0 3,143 5,270 5,966 62 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,650 19,700 0 3,135 5,259 5,956 58 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,700 19,750 0 3,128 5,249 5,945 54 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,750 19,800 0 3,120 5,238 5,935 50 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,800 19,850 0 3,112 5,228 5,924 46 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,850 19,900 0 3,104 5,217 5,914 42 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,900 19,950 0 3,096 5,207 5,903 39 3,373 5,572 6,269
19,950 20,000 0 3,088 5,196 5,893 35 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,000 20,050 0 3,080 5,186 5,882 31 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,050 20,100 0 3,072 5,175 5,872 27 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,100 20,150 0 3,064 5,164 5,861 23 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,150 20,200 0 3,056 5,154 5,850 20 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,200 20,250 0 3,048 5,143 5,840 16 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,250 20,300 0 3,040 5,133 5,829 12 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,300 20,350 0 3,032 5,122 5,819 8 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,350 20,400 0 3,024 5,112 5,808 4 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,400 20,450 0 3,016 5,101 5,798 ** 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,450 20,500 0 3,008 5,091 5,787 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,500 20,550 0 3,000 5,080 5,777 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,550 20,600 0 2,992 5,070 5,766 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,600 20,650 0 2,984 5,059 5,756 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,650 20,700 0 2,976 5,049 5,745 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,700 20,750 0 2,968 5,038 5,735 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,750 20,800 0 2,960 5,028 5,724 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,800 20,850 0 2,952 5,017 5,714 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,850 20,900 0 2,944 5,007 5,703 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,900 20,950 0 2,936 4,996 5,693 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
20,950 21,000 0 2,928 4,985 5,682 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,000 21,050 0 2,920 4,975 5,671 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,050 21,100 0 2,912 4,964 5,661 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,100 21,150 0 2,904 4,954 5,650 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,150 21,200 0 2,896 4,943 5,640 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,200 21,250 0 2,888 4,933 5,629 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,250 21,300 0 2,880 4,922 5,619 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,300 21,350 0 2,872 4,912 5,608 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,350 21,400 0 2,864 4,901 5,598 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,400 21,450 0 2,856 4,891 5,587 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,450 21,500 0 2,848 4,880 5,577 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,500 21,550 0 2,840 4,870 5,566 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,550 21,600 0 2,832 4,859 5,556 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,600 21,650 0 2,824 4,849 5,545 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,650 21,700 0 2,816 4,838 5,535 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,700 21,750 0 2,808 4,828 5,524 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,750 21,800 0 2,800 4,817 5,513 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,800 21,850 0 2,792 4,806 5,503 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,850 21,900 0 2,784 4,796 5,492 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,900 21,950 0 2,776 4,785 5,482 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
21,950 22,000 0 2,768 4,775 5,471 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,000 22,050 0 2,760 4,764 5,461 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,050 22,100 0 2,752 4,754 5,450 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,100 22,150 0 2,744 4,743 5,440 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,150 22,200 0 2,736 4,733 5,429 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,200 22,250 0 2,728 4,722 5,419 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,250 22,300 0 2,720 4,712 5,408 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,300 22,350 0 2,712 4,701 5,398 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,350 22,400 0 2,704 4,691 5,387 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
* If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $14,850 but less than $14,880, and you have no qualifying children, your credit is $1.
If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $14,880 or more, and you have no qualifying children, you can’t take the credit.
** If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $20,400 but less than $20,430, and you have no qualifying children, your credit is $1.
If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $20,430 or more, and you have no qualifying children, you can't take the credit.
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
(Continued)
Page 32 Publication 596 (2016)
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
22,400 22,450 0 2,696 4,680 5,377 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,450 22,500 0 2,688 4,670 5,366 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,500 22,550 0 2,680 4,659 5,356 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,550 22,600 0 2,672 4,649 5,345 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,600 22,650 0 2,664 4,638 5,334 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,650 22,700 0 2,656 4,627 5,324 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,700 22,750 0 2,648 4,617 5,313 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,750 22,800 0 2,640 4,606 5,303 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,800 22,850 0 2,632 4,596 5,292 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,850 22,900 0 2,624 4,585 5,282 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,900 22,950 0 2,616 4,575 5,271 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
22,950 23,000 0 2,608 4,564 5,261 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,000 23,050 0 2,600 4,554 5,250 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,050 23,100 0 2,592 4,543 5,240 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,100 23,150 0 2,584 4,533 5,229 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,150 23,200 0 2,576 4,522 5,219 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,200 23,250 0 2,568 4,512 5,208 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,250 23,300 0 2,560 4,501 5,198 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,300 23,350 0 2,552 4,491 5,187 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,350 23,400 0 2,544 4,480 5,177 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,400 23,450 0 2,536 4,470 5,166 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,450 23,500 0 2,528 4,459 5,155 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,500 23,550 0 2,520 4,448 5,145 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,550 23,600 0 2,512 4,438 5,134 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,600 23,650 0 2,504 4,427 5,124 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,650 23,700 0 2,496 4,417 5,113 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,700 23,750 0 2,488 4,406 5,103 0 3,373 5,572 6,269
23,750 23,800 0 2,480 4,396 5,092 0 3,367 5,565 6,261
23,800 23,850 0 2,472 4,385 5,082 0 3,359 5,554 6,251
23,850 23,900 0 2,464 4,375 5,071 0 3,351 5,544 6,240
23,900 23,950 0 2,456 4,364 5,061 0 3,343 5,533 6,230
23,950 24,000 0 2,448 4,354 5,050 0 3,335 5,523 6,219
24,000 24,050 0 2,440 4,343 5,040 0 3,327 5,512 6,208
24,050 24,100 0 2,432 4,333 5,029 0 3,319 5,501 6,198
24,100 24,150 0 2,424 4,322 5,019 0 3,311 5,491 6,187
24,150 24,200 0 2,416 4,312 5,008 0 3,303 5,480 6,177
24,200 24,250 0 2,408 4,301 4,998 0 3,295 5,470 6,166
24,250 24,300 0 2,400 4,290 4,987 0 3,287 5,459 6,156
24,300 24,350 0 2,392 4,280 4,976 0 3,279 5,449 6,145
24,350 24,400 0 2,384 4,269 4,966 0 3,271 5,438 6,135
24,400 24,450 0 2,376 4,259 4,955 0 3,263 5,428 6,124
24,450 24,500 0 2,368 4,248 4,945 0 3,255 5,417 6,114
24,500 24,550 0 2,360 4,238 4,934 0 3,247 5,407 6,103
24,550 24,600 0 2,352 4,227 4,924 0 3,239 5,396 6,093
24,600 24,650 0 2,344 4,217 4,913 0 3,231 5,386 6,082
24,650 24,700 0 2,336 4,206 4,903 0 3,223 5,375 6,072
24,700 24,750 0 2,329 4,196 4,892 0 3,215 5,365 6,061
24,750 24,800 0 2,321 4,185 4,882 0 3,207 5,354 6,051
24,800 24,850 0 2,313 4,175 4,871 0 3,199 5,343 6,040
24,850 24,900 0 2,305 4,164 4,861 0 3,191 5,333 6,029
24,900 24,950 0 2,297 4,154 4,850 0 3,183 5,322 6,019
24,950 25,000 0 2,289 4,143 4,840 0 3,175 5,312 6,008
25,000 25,050 0 2,281 4,133 4,829 0 3,167 5,301 5,998
25,050 25,100 0 2,273 4,122 4,819 0 3,159 5,291 5,987
25,100 25,150 0 2,265 4,111 4,808 0 3,151 5,280 5,977
25,150 25,200 0 2,257 4,101 4,797 0 3,143 5,270 5,966
25,200 25,250 0 2,249 4,090 4,787 0 3,135 5,259 5,956
25,250 25,300 0 2,241 4,080 4,776 0 3,128 5,249 5,945
25,300 25,350 0 2,233 4,069 4,766 0 3,120 5,238 5,935
25,350 25,400 0 2,225 4,059 4,755 0 3,112 5,228 5,924
25,400 25,450 0 2,217 4,048 4,745 0 3,104 5,217 5,914
25,450 25,500 0 2,209 4,038 4,734 0 3,096 5,207 5,903
25,500 25,550 0 2,201 4,027 4,724 0 3,088 5,196 5,893
25,550 25,600 0 2,193 4,017 4,713 0 3,080 5,186 5,882
25,600 25,650 0 2,185 4,006 4,703 0 3,072 5,175 5,872
25,650 25,700 0 2,177 3,996 4,692 0 3,064 5,164 5,861
25,700 25,750 0 2,169 3,985 4,682 0 3,056 5,154 5,850
25,750 25,800 0 2,161 3,975 4,671 0 3,048 5,143 5,840
25,800 25,850 0 2,153 3,964 4,661 0 3,040 5,133 5,829
25,850 25,900 0 2,145 3,954 4,650 0 3,032 5,122 5,819
25,900 25,950 0 2,137 3,943 4,640 0 3,024 5,112 5,808
25,950 26,000 0 2,129 3,932 4,629 0 3,016 5,101 5,798
26,000 26,050 0 2,121 3,922 4,618 0 3,008 5,091 5,787
26,050 26,100 0 2,113 3,911 4,608 0 3,000 5,080 5,777
26,100 26,150 0 2,105 3,901 4,597 0 2,992 5,070 5,766
26,150 26,200 0 2,097 3,890 4,587 0 2,984 5,059 5,756
26,200 26,250 0 2,089 3,880 4,576 0 2,976 5,049 5,745
26,250 26,300 0 2,081 3,869 4,566 0 2,968 5,038 5,735
26,300 26,350 0 2,073 3,859 4,555 0 2,960 5,028 5,724
26,350 26,400 0 2,065 3,848 4,545 0 2,952 5,017 5,714
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
26,400 26,450 0 2,057 3,838 4,534 0 2,944 5,007 5,703
26,450 26,500 0 2,049 3,827 4,524 0 2,936 4,996 5,693
26,500 26,550 0 2,041 3,817 4,513 0 2,928 4,985 5,682
26,550 26,600 0 2,033 3,806 4,503 0 2,920 4,975 5,671
26,600 26,650 0 2,025 3,796 4,492 0 2,912 4,964 5,661
26,650 26,700 0 2,017 3,785 4,482 0 2,904 4,954 5,650
26,700 26,750 0 2,009 3,775 4,471 0 2,896 4,943 5,640
26,750 26,800 0 2,001 3,764 4,460 0 2,888 4,933 5,629
26,800 26,850 0 1,993 3,753 4,450 0 2,880 4,922 5,619
26,850 26,900 0 1,985 3,743 4,439 0 2,872 4,912 5,608
26,900 26,950 0 1,977 3,732 4,429 0 2,864 4,901 5,598
26,950 27,000 0 1,969 3,722 4,418 0 2,856 4,891 5,587
27,000 27,050 0 1,961 3,711 4,408 0 2,848 4,880 5,577
27,050 27,100 0 1,953 3,701 4,397 0 2,840 4,870 5,566
27,100 27,150 0 1,945 3,690 4,387 0 2,832 4,859 5,556
27,150 27,200 0 1,937 3,680 4,376 0 2,824 4,849 5,545
27,200 27,250 0 1,929 3,669 4,366 0 2,816 4,838 5,535
27,250 27,300 0 1,921 3,659 4,355 0 2,808 4,828 5,524
27,300 27,350 0 1,913 3,648 4,345 0 2,800 4,817 5,513
27,350 27,400 0 1,905 3,638 4,334 0 2,792 4,806 5,503
27,400 27,450 0 1,897 3,627 4,324 0 2,784 4,796 5,492
27,450 27,500 0 1,889 3,617 4,313 0 2,776 4,785 5,482
27,500 27,550 0 1,881 3,606 4,303 0 2,768 4,775 5,471
27,550 27,600 0 1,873 3,596 4,292 0 2,760 4,764 5,461
27,600 27,650 0 1,865 3,585 4,281 0 2,752 4,754 5,450
27,650 27,700 0 1,857 3,574 4,271 0 2,744 4,743 5,440
27,700 27,750 0 1,849 3,564 4,260 0 2,736 4,733 5,429
27,750 27,800 0 1,841 3,553 4,250 0 2,728 4,722 5,419
27,800 27,850 0 1,833 3,543 4,239 0 2,720 4,712 5,408
27,850 27,900 0 1,825 3,532 4,229 0 2,712 4,701 5,398
27,900 27,950 0 1,817 3,522 4,218 0 2,704 4,691 5,387
27,950 28,000 0 1,809 3,511 4,208 0 2,696 4,680 5,377
28,000 28,050 0 1,801 3,501 4,197 0 2,688 4,670 5,366
28,050 28,100 0 1,793 3,490 4,187 0 2,680 4,659 5,356
28,100 28,150 0 1,785 3,480 4,176 0 2,672 4,649 5,345
28,150 28,200 0 1,777 3,469 4,166 0 2,664 4,638 5,334
28,200 28,250 0 1,769 3,459 4,155 0 2,656 4,627 5,324
28,250 28,300 0 1,761 3,448 4,145 0 2,648 4,617 5,313
28,300 28,350 0 1,753 3,438 4,134 0 2,640 4,606 5,303
28,350 28,400 0 1,745 3,427 4,124 0 2,632 4,596 5,292
28,400 28,450 0 1,737 3,417 4,113 0 2,624 4,585 5,282
28,450 28,500 0 1,729 3,406 4,102 0 2,616 4,575 5,271
28,500 28,550 0 1,721 3,395 4,092 0 2,608 4,564 5,261
28,550 28,600 0 1,713 3,385 4,081 0 2,600 4,554 5,250
28,600 28,650 0 1,705 3,374 4,071 0 2,592 4,543 5,240
28,650 28,700 0 1,697 3,364 4,060 0 2,584 4,533 5,229
28,700 28,750 0 1,689 3,353 4,050 0 2,576 4,522 5,219
28,750 28,800 0 1,681 3,343 4,039 0 2,568 4,512 5,208
28,800 28,850 0 1,673 3,332 4,029 0 2,560 4,501 5,198
28,850 28,900 0 1,665 3,322 4,018 0 2,552 4,491 5,187
28,900 28,950 0 1,657 3,311 4,008 0 2,544 4,480 5,177
28,950 29,000 0 1,649 3,301 3,997 0 2,536 4,470 5,166
29,000 29,050 0 1,641 3,290 3,987 0 2,528 4,459 5,155
29,050 29,100 0 1,633 3,280 3,976 0 2,520 4,448 5,145
29,100 29,150 0 1,625 3,269 3,966 0 2,512 4,438 5,134
29,150 29,200 0 1,617 3,259 3,955 0 2,504 4,427 5,124
29,200 29,250 0 1,609 3,248 3,945 0 2,496 4,417 5,113
29,250 29,300 0 1,601 3,237 3,934 0 2,488 4,406 5,103
29,300 29,350 0 1,593 3,227 3,923 0 2,480 4,396 5,092
29,350 29,400 0 1,585 3,216 3,913 0 2,472 4,385 5,082
29,400 29,450 0 1,577 3,206 3,902 0 2,464 4,375 5,071
29,450 29,500 0 1,569 3,195 3,892 0 2,456 4,364 5,061
29,500 29,550 0 1,561 3,185 3,881 0 2,448 4,354 5,050
29,550 29,600 0 1,553 3,174 3,871 0 2,440 4,343 5,040
29,600 29,650 0 1,545 3,164 3,860 0 2,432 4,333 5,029
29,650 29,700 0 1,537 3,153 3,850 0 2,424 4,322 5,019
29,700 29,750 0 1,530 3,143 3,839 0 2,416 4,312 5,008
29,750 29,800 0 1,522 3,132 3,829 0 2,408 4,301 4,998
29,800 29,850 0 1,514 3,122 3,818 0 2,400 4,290 4,987
29,850 29,900 0 1,506 3,111 3,808 0 2,392 4,280 4,976
29,900 29,950 0 1,498 3,101 3,797 0 2,384 4,269 4,966
29,950 30,000 0 1,490 3,090 3,787 0 2,376 4,259 4,955
30,000 30,050 0 1,482 3,080 3,776 0 2,368 4,248 4,945
30,050 30,100 0 1,474 3,069 3,766 0 2,360 4,238 4,934
30,100 30,150 0 1,466 3,058 3,755 0 2,352 4,227 4,924
30,150 30,200 0 1,458 3,048 3,744 0 2,344 4,217 4,913
30,200 30,250 0 1,450 3,037 3,734 0 2,336 4,206 4,903
30,250 30,300 0 1,442 3,027 3,723 0 2,329 4,196 4,892
30,300 30,350 0 1,434 3,016 3,713 0 2,321 4,185 4,882
30,350 30,400 0 1,426 3,006 3,702 0 2,313 4,175 4,871
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
(Continued)
Publication 596 (2016) Page 33
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
30,400 30,450 0 1,418 2,995 3,692 0 2,305 4,164 4,861
30,450 30,500 0 1,410 2,985 3,681 0 2,297 4,154 4,850
30,500 30,550 0 1,402 2,974 3,671 0 2,289 4,143 4,840
30,550 30,600 0 1,394 2,964 3,660 0 2,281 4,133 4,829
30,600 30,650 0 1,386 2,953 3,650 0 2,273 4,122 4,819
30,650 30,700 0 1,378 2,943 3,639 0 2,265 4,111 4,808
30,700 30,750 0 1,370 2,932 3,629 0 2,257 4,101 4,797
30,750 30,800 0 1,362 2,922 3,618 0 2,249 4,090 4,787
30,800 30,850 0 1,354 2,911 3,608 0 2,241 4,080 4,776
30,850 30,900 0 1,346 2,901 3,597 0 2,233 4,069 4,766
30,900 30,950 0 1,338 2,890 3,587 0 2,225 4,059 4,755
30,950 31,000 0 1,330 2,879 3,576 0 2,217 4,048 4,745
31,000 31,050 0 1,322 2,869 3,565 0 2,209 4,038 4,734
31,050 31,100 0 1,314 2,858 3,555 0 2,201 4,027 4,724
31,100 31,150 0 1,306 2,848 3,544 0 2,193 4,017 4,713
31,150 31,200 0 1,298 2,837 3,534 0 2,185 4,006 4,703
31,200 31,250 0 1,290 2,827 3,523 0 2,177 3,996 4,692
31,250 31,300 0 1,282 2,816 3,513 0 2,169 3,985 4,682
31,300 31,350 0 1,274 2,806 3,502 0 2,161 3,975 4,671
31,350 31,400 0 1,266 2,795 3,492 0 2,153 3,964 4,661
31,400 31,450 0 1,258 2,785 3,481 0 2,145 3,954 4,650
31,450 31,500 0 1,250 2,774 3,471 0 2,137 3,943 4,640
31,500 31,550 0 1,242 2,764 3,460 0 2,129 3,932 4,629
31,550 31,600 0 1,234 2,753 3,450 0 2,121 3,922 4,618
31,600 31,650 0 1,226 2,743 3,439 0 2,113 3,911 4,608
31,650 31,700 0 1,218 2,732 3,429 0 2,105 3,901 4,597
31,700 31,750 0 1,210 2,722 3,418 0 2,097 3,890 4,587
31,750 31,800 0 1,202 2,711 3,407 0 2,089 3,880 4,576
31,800 31,850 0 1,194 2,700 3,397 0 2,081 3,869 4,566
31,850 31,900 0 1,186 2,690 3,386 0 2,073 3,859 4,555
31,900 31,950 0 1,178 2,679 3,376 0 2,065 3,848 4,545
31,950 32,000 0 1,170 2,669 3,365 0 2,057 3,838 4,534
32,000 32,050 0 1,162 2,658 3,355 0 2,049 3,827 4,524
32,050 32,100 0 1,154 2,648 3,344 0 2,041 3,817 4,513
32,100 32,150 0 1,146 2,637 3,334 0 2,033 3,806 4,503
32,150 32,200 0 1,138 2,627 3,323 0 2,025 3,796 4,492
32,200 32,250 0 1,130 2,616 3,313 0 2,017 3,785 4,482
32,250 32,300 0 1,122 2,606 3,302 0 2,009 3,775 4,471
32,300 32,350 0 1,114 2,595 3,292 0 2,001 3,764 4,460
32,350 32,400 0 1,106 2,585 3,281 0 1,993 3,753 4,450
32,400 32,450 0 1,098 2,574 3,271 0 1,985 3,743 4,439
32,450 32,500 0 1,090 2,564 3,260 0 1,977 3,732 4,429
32,500 32,550 0 1,082 2,553 3,250 0 1,969 3,722 4,418
32,550 32,600 0 1,074 2,543 3,239 0 1,961 3,711 4,408
32,600 32,650 0 1,066 2,532 3,228 0 1,953 3,701 4,397
32,650 32,700 0 1,058 2,521 3,218 0 1,945 3,690 4,387
32,700 32,750 0 1,050 2,511 3,207 0 1,937 3,680 4,376
32,750 32,800 0 1,042 2,500 3,197 0 1,929 3,669 4,366
32,800 32,850 0 1,034 2,490 3,186 0 1,921 3,659 4,355
32,850 32,900 0 1,026 2,479 3,176 0 1,913 3,648 4,345
32,900 32,950 0 1,018 2,469 3,165 0 1,905 3,638 4,334
32,950 33,000 0 1,010 2,458 3,155 0 1,897 3,627 4,324
33,000 33,050 0 1,002 2,448 3,144 0 1,889 3,617 4,313
33,050 33,100 0 994 2,437 3,134 0 1,881 3,606 4,303
33,100 33,150 0 986 2,427 3,123 0 1,873 3,596 4,292
33,150 33,200 0 978 2,416 3,113 0 1,865 3,585 4,281
33,200 33,250 0 970 2,406 3,102 0 1,857 3,574 4,271
33,250 33,300 0 962 2,395 3,092 0 1,849 3,564 4,260
33,300 33,350 0 954 2,385 3,081 0 1,841 3,553 4,250
33,350 33,400 0 946 2,374 3,071 0 1,833 3,543 4,239
33,400 33,450 0 938 2,364 3,060 0 1,825 3,532 4,229
33,450 33,500 0 930 2,353 3,049 0 1,817 3,522 4,218
33,500 33,550 0 922 2,342 3,039 0 1,809 3,511 4,208
33,550 33,600 0 914 2,332 3,028 0 1,801 3,501 4,197
33,600 33,650 0 906 2,321 3,018 0 1,793 3,490 4,187
33,650 33,700 0 898 2,311 3,007 0 1,785 3,480 4,176
33,700 33,750 0 890 2,300 2,997 0 1,777 3,469 4,166
33,750 33,800 0 882 2,290 2,986 0 1,769 3,459 4,155
33,800 33,850 0 874 2,279 2,976 0 1,761 3,448 4,145
33,850 33,900 0 866 2,269 2,965 0 1,753 3,438 4,134
33,900 33,950 0 858 2,258 2,955 0 1,745 3,427 4,124
33,950 34,000 0 850 2,248 2,944 0 1,737 3,417 4,113
34,000 34,050 0 842 2,237 2,934 0 1,729 3,406 4,102
34,050 34,100 0 834 2,227 2,923 0 1,721 3,395 4,092
34,100 34,150 0 826 2,216 2,913 0 1,713 3,385 4,081
34,150 34,200 0 818 2,206 2,902 0 1,705 3,374 4,071
34,200 34,250 0 810 2,195 2,892 0 1,697 3,364 4,060
34,250 34,300 0 802 2,184 2,881 0 1,689 3,353 4,050
34,300 34,350 0 794 2,174 2,870 0 1,681 3,343 4,039
34,350 34,400 0 786 2,163 2,860 0 1,673 3,332 4,029
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
34,400 34,450 0 778 2,153 2,849 0 1,665 3,322 4,018
34,450 34,500 0 770 2,142 2,839 0 1,657 3,311 4,008
34,500 34,550 0 762 2,132 2,828 0 1,649 3,301 3,997
34,550 34,600 0 754 2,121 2,818 0 1,641 3,290 3,987
34,600 34,650 0 746 2,111 2,807 0 1,633 3,280 3,976
34,650 34,700 0 738 2,100 2,797 0 1,625 3,269 3,966
34,700 34,750 0 731 2,090 2,786 0 1,617 3,259 3,955
34,750 34,800 0 723 2,079 2,776 0 1,609 3,248 3,945
34,800 34,850 0 715 2,069 2,765 0 1,601 3,237 3,934
34,850 34,900 0 707 2,058 2,755 0 1,593 3,227 3,923
34,900 34,950 0 699 2,048 2,744 0 1,585 3,216 3,913
34,950 35,000 0 691 2,037 2,734 0 1,577 3,206 3,902
35,000 35,050 0 683 2,027 2,723 0 1,569 3,195 3,892
35,050 35,100 0 675 2,016 2,713 0 1,561 3,185 3,881
35,100 35,150 0 667 2,005 2,702 0 1,553 3,174 3,871
35,150 35,200 0 659 1,995 2,691 0 1,545 3,164 3,860
35,200 35,250 0 651 1,984 2,681 0 1,537 3,153 3,850
35,250 35,300 0 643 1,974 2,670 0 1,530 3,143 3,839
35,300 35,350 0 635 1,963 2,660 0 1,522 3,132 3,829
35,350 35,400 0 627 1,953 2,649 0 1,514 3,122 3,818
35,400 35,450 0 619 1,942 2,639 0 1,506 3,111 3,808
35,450 35,500 0 611 1,932 2,628 0 1,498 3,101 3,797
35,500 35,550 0 603 1,921 2,618 0 1,490 3,090 3,787
35,550 35,600 0 595 1,911 2,607 0 1,482 3,080 3,776
35,600 35,650 0 587 1,900 2,597 0 1,474 3,069 3,766
35,650 35,700 0 579 1,890 2,586 0 1,466 3,058 3,755
35,700 35,750 0 571 1,879 2,576 0 1,458 3,048 3,744
35,750 35,800 0 563 1,869 2,565 0 1,450 3,037 3,734
35,800 35,850 0 555 1,858 2,555 0 1,442 3,027 3,723
35,850 35,900 0 547 1,848 2,544 0 1,434 3,016 3,713
35,900 35,950 0 539 1,837 2,534 0 1,426 3,006 3,702
35,950 36,000 0 531 1,826 2,523 0 1,418 2,995 3,692
36,000 36,050 0 523 1,816 2,512 0 1,410 2,985 3,681
36,050 36,100 0 515 1,805 2,502 0 1,402 2,974 3,671
36,100 36,150 0 507 1,795 2,491 0 1,394 2,964 3,660
36,150 36,200 0 499 1,784 2,481 0 1,386 2,953 3,650
36,200 36,250 0 491 1,774 2,470 0 1,378 2,943 3,639
36,250 36,300 0 483 1,763 2,460 0 1,370 2,932 3,629
36,300 36,350 0 475 1,753 2,449 0 1,362 2,922 3,618
36,350 36,400 0 467 1,742 2,439 0 1,354 2,911 3,608
36,400 36,450 0 459 1,732 2,428 0 1,346 2,901 3,597
36,450 36,500 0 451 1,721 2,418 0 1,338 2,890 3,587
36,500 36,550 0 443 1,711 2,407 0 1,330 2,879 3,576
36,550 36,600 0 435 1,700 2,397 0 1,322 2,869 3,565
36,600 36,650 0 427 1,690 2,386 0 1,314 2,858 3,555
36,650 36,700 0 419 1,679 2,376 0 1,306 2,848 3,544
36,700 36,750 0 411 1,669 2,365 0 1,298 2,837 3,534
36,750 36,800 0 403 1,658 2,354 0 1,290 2,827 3,523
36,800 36,850 0 395 1,647 2,344 0 1,282 2,816 3,513
36,850 36,900 0 387 1,637 2,333 0 1,274 2,806 3,502
36,900 36,950 0 379 1,626 2,323 0 1,266 2,795 3,492
36,950 37,000 0 371 1,616 2,312 0 1,258 2,785 3,481
37,000 37,050 0 363 1,605 2,302 0 1,250 2,774 3,471
37,050 37,100 0 355 1,595 2,291 0 1,242 2,764 3,460
37,100 37,150 0 347 1,584 2,281 0 1,234 2,753 3,450
37,150 37,200 0 339 1,574 2,270 0 1,226 2,743 3,439
37,200 37,250 0 331 1,563 2,260 0 1,218 2,732 3,429
37,250 37,300 0 323 1,553 2,249 0 1,210 2,722 3,418
37,300 37,350 0 315 1,542 2,239 0 1,202 2,711 3,407
37,350 37,400 0 307 1,532 2,228 0 1,194 2,700 3,397
37,400 37,450 0 299 1,521 2,218 0 1,186 2,690 3,386
37,450 37,500 0 291 1,511 2,207 0 1,178 2,679 3,376
37,500 37,550 0 283 1,500 2,197 0 1,170 2,669 3,365
37,550 37,600 0 275 1,490 2,186 0 1,162 2,658 3,355
37,600 37,650 0 267 1,479 2,175 0 1,154 2,648 3,344
37,650 37,700 0 259 1,468 2,165 0 1,146 2,637 3,334
37,700 37,750 0 251 1,458 2,154 0 1,138 2,627 3,323
37,750 37,800 0 243 1,447 2,144 0 1,130 2,616 3,313
37,800 37,850 0 235 1,437 2,133 0 1,122 2,606 3,302
37,850 37,900 0 227 1,426 2,123 0 1,114 2,595 3,292
37,900 37,950 0 219 1,416 2,112 0 1,106 2,585 3,281
37,950 38,000 0 211 1,405 2,102 0 1,098 2,574 3,271
38,000 38,050 0 203 1,395 2,091 0 1,090 2,564 3,260
38,050 38,100 0 195 1,384 2,081 0 1,082 2,553 3,250
38,100 38,150 0 187 1,374 2,070 0 1,074 2,543 3,239
38,150 38,200 0 179 1,363 2,060 0 1,066 2,532 3,228
38,200 38,250 0 171 1,353 2,049 0 1,058 2,521 3,218
38,250 38,300 0 163 1,342 2,039 0 1,050 2,511 3,207
38,300 38,350 0 155 1,332 2,028 0 1,042 2,500 3,197
38,350 38,400 0 147 1,321 2,018 0 1,034 2,490 3,186
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
(Continued)
Page 34 Publication 596 (2016)
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
38,400 38,450 0 139 1,311 2,007 0 1,026 2,479 3,176
38,450 38,500 0 131 1,300 1,996 0 1,018 2,469 3,165
38,500 38,550 0 123 1,289 1,986 0 1,010 2,458 3,155
38,550 38,600 0 115 1,279 1,975 0 1,002 2,448 3,144
38,600 38,650 0 107 1,268 1,965 0 994 2,437 3,134
38,650 38,700 0 99 1,258 1,954 0 986 2,427 3,123
38,700 38,750 0 91 1,247 1,944 0 978 2,416 3,113
38,750 38,800 0 83 1,237 1,933 0 970 2,406 3,102
38,800 38,850 0 75 1,226 1,923 0 962 2,395 3,092
38,850 38,900 0 67 1,216 1,912 0 954 2,385 3,081
38,900 38,950 0 59 1,205 1,902 0 946 2,374 3,071
38,950 39,000 0 51 1,195 1,891 0 938 2,364 3,060
39,000 39,050 0 43 1,184 1,881 0 930 2,353 3,049
39,050 39,100 0 35 1,174 1,870 0 922 2,342 3,039
39,100 39,150 0 27 1,163 1,860 0 914 2,332 3,028
39,150 39,200 0 19 1,153 1,849 0 906 2,321 3,018
39,200 39,250 0 11 1,142 1,839 0 898 2,311 3,007
39,250 39,300 0 * 1,131 1,828 0 890 2,300 2,997
39,300 39,350 0 0 1,121 1,817 0 882 2,290 2,986
39,350 39,400 0 0 1,110 1,807 0 874 2,279 2,976
39,400 39,450 0 0 1,100 1,796 0 866 2,269 2,965
39,450 39,500 0 0 1,089 1,786 0 858 2,258 2,955
39,500 39,550 0 0 1,079 1,775 0 850 2,248 2,944
39,550 39,600 0 0 1,068 1,765 0 842 2,237 2,934
39,600 39,650 0 0 1,058 1,754 0 834 2,227 2,923
39,650 39,700 0 0 1,047 1,744 0 826 2,216 2,913
39,700 39,750 0 0 1,037 1,733 0 818 2,206 2,902
39,750 39,800 0 0 1,026 1,723 0 810 2,195 2,892
39,800 39,850 0 0 1,016 1,712 0 802 2,184 2,881
39,850 39,900 0 0 1,005 1,702 0 794 2,174 2,870
39,900 39,950 0 0 995 1,691 0 786 2,163 2,860
39,950 40,000 0 0 984 1,681 0 778 2,153 2,849
40,000 40,050 0 0 974 1,670 0 770 2,142 2,839
40,050 40,100 0 0 963 1,660 0 762 2,132 2,828
40,100 40,150 0 0 952 1,649 0 754 2,121 2,818
40,150 40,200 0 0 942 1,638 0 746 2,111 2,807
40,200 40,250 0 0 931 1,628 0 738 2,100 2,797
40,250 40,300 0 0 921 1,617 0 731 2,090 2,786
40,300 40,350 0 0 910 1,607 0 723 2,079 2,776
40,350 40,400 0 0 900 1,596 0 715 2,069 2,765
40,400 40,450 0 0 889 1,586 0 707 2,058 2,755
40,450 40,500 0 0 879 1,575 0 699 2,048 2,744
40,500 40,550 0 0 868 1,565 0 691 2,037 2,734
40,550 40,600 0 0 858 1,554 0 683 2,027 2,723
40,600 40,650 0 0 847 1,544 0 675 2,016 2,713
40,650 40,700 0 0 837 1,533 0 667 2,005 2,702
40,700 40,750 0 0 826 1,523 0 659 1,995 2,691
40,750 40,800 0 0 816 1,512 0 651 1,984 2,681
40,800 40,850 0 0 805 1,502 0 643 1,974 2,670
40,850 40,900 0 0 795 1,491 0 635 1,963 2,660
40,900 40,950 0 0 784 1,481 0 627 1,953 2,649
40,950 41,000 0 0 773 1,470 0 619 1,942 2,639
41,000 41,050 0 0 763 1,459 0 611 1,932 2,628
41,050 41,100 0 0 752 1,449 0 603 1,921 2,618
41,100 41,150 0 0 742 1,438 0 595 1,911 2,607
41,150 41,200 0 0 731 1,428 0 587 1,900 2,597
41,200 41,250 0 0 721 1,417 0 579 1,890 2,586
41,250 41,300 0 0 710 1,407 0 571 1,879 2,576
41,300 41,350 0 0 700 1,396 0 563 1,869 2,565
41,350 41,400 0 0 689 1,386 0 555 1,858 2,555
41,400 41,450 0 0 679 1,375 0 547 1,848 2,544
41,450 41,500 0 0 668 1,365 0 539 1,837 2,534
41,500 41,550 0 0 658 1,354 0 531 1,826 2,523
41,550 41,600 0 0 647 1,344 0 523 1,816 2,512
41,600 41,650 0 0 637 1,333 0 515 1,805 2,502
41,650 41,700 0 0 626 1,323 0 507 1,795 2,491
41,700 41,750 0 0 616 1,312 0 499 1,784 2,481
41,750 41,800 0 0 605 1,301 0 491 1,774 2,470
41,800 41,850 0 0 594 1,291 0 483 1,763 2,460
41,850 41,900 0 0 584 1,280 0 475 1,753 2,449
41,900 41,950 0 0 573 1,270 0 467 1,742 2,439
41,950 42,000 0 0 563 1,259 0 459 1,732 2,428
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
42,000 42,050 0 0 552 1,249 0 451 1,721 2,418
42,050 42,100 0 0 542 1,238 0 443 1,711 2,407
42,100 42,150 0 0 531 1,228 0 435 1,700 2,397
42,150 42,200 0 0 521 1,217 0 427 1,690 2,386
42,200 42,250 0 0 510 1,207 0 419 1,679 2,376
42,250 42,300 0 0 500 1,196 0 411 1,669 2,365
42,300 42,350 0 0 489 1,186 0 403 1,658 2,354
42,350 42,400 0 0 479 1,175 0 395 1,647 2,344
42,400 42,450 0 0 468 1,165 0 387 1,637 2,333
42,450 42,500 0 0 458 1,154 0 379 1,626 2,323
42,500 42,550 0 0 447 1,144 0 371 1,616 2,312
42,550 42,600 0 0 437 1,133 0 363 1,605 2,302
42,600 42,650 0 0 426 1,122 0 355 1,595 2,291
42,650 42,700 0 0 415 1,112 0 347 1,584 2,281
42,700 42,750 0 0 405 1,101 0 339 1,574 2,270
42,750 42,800 0 0 394 1,091 0 331 1,563 2,260
42,800 42,850 0 0 384 1,080 0 323 1,553 2,249
42,850 42,900 0 0 373 1,070 0 315 1,542 2,239
42,900 42,950 0 0 363 1,059 0 307 1,532 2,228
42,950 43,000 0 0 352 1,049 0 299 1,521 2,218
43,000 43,050 0 0 342 1,038 0 291 1,511 2,207
43,050 43,100 0 0 331 1,028 0 283 1,500 2,197
43,100 43,150 0 0 321 1,017 0 275 1,490 2,186
43,150 43,200 0 0 310 1,007 0 267 1,479 2,175
43,200 43,250 0 0 300 996 0 259 1,468 2,165
43,250 43,300 0 0 289 986 0 251 1,458 2,154
43,300 43,350 0 0 279 975 0 243 1,447 2,144
43,350 43,400 0 0 268 965 0 235 1,437 2,133
43,400 43,450 0 0 258 954 0 227 1,426 2,123
43,450 43,500 0 0 247 943 0 219 1,416 2,112
43,500 43,550 0 0 236 933 0 211 1,405 2,102
43,550 43,600 0 0 226 922 0 203 1,395 2,091
43,600 43,650 0 0 215 912 0 195 1,384 2,081
43,650 43,700 0 0 205 901 0 187 1,374 2,070
43,700 43,750 0 0 194 891 0 179 1,363 2,060
43,750 43,800 0 0 184 880 0 171 1,353 2,049
43,800 43,850 0 0 173 870 0 163 1,342 2,039
43,850 43,900 0 0 163 859 0 155 1,332 2,028
43,900 43,950 0 0 152 849 0 147 1,321 2,018
43,950 44,000 0 0 142 838 0 139 1,311 2,007
44,000 44,050 0 0 131 828 0 131 1,300 1,996
44,050 44,100 0 0 121 817 0 123 1,289 1,986
44,100 44,150 0 0 110 807 0 115 1,279 1,975
44,150 44,200 0 0 100 796 0 107 1,268 1,965
44,200 44,250 0 0 89 786 0 99 1,258 1,954
44,250 44,300 0 0 78 775 0 91 1,247 1,944
44,300 44,350 0 0 68 764 0 83 1,237 1,933
44,350 44,400 0 0 57 754 0 75 1,226 1,923
44,400 44,450 0 0 47 743 0 67 1,216 1,912
44,450 44,500 0 0 36 733 0 59 1,205 1,902
44,500 44,550 0 0 26 722 0 51 1,195 1,891
44,550 44,600 0 0 15 712 0 43 1,184 1,881
44,600 44,650 0 0 ** 701 0 35 1,174 1,870
44,650 44,700 0 0 0 691 0 27 1,163 1,860
44,700 44,750 0 0 0 680 0 19 1,153 1,849
44,750 44,800 0 0 0 670 0 11 1,142 1,839
44,800 44,850 0 0 0 659 0 *** 1,131 1,828
44,850 44,900 0 0 0 649 0 0 1,121 1,817
44,900 44,950 0 0 0 638 0 0 1,110 1,807
44,950 45,000 0 0 0 628 0 0 1,100 1,796
45,000 45,050 0 0 0 617 0 0 1,089 1,786
45,050 45,100 0 0 0 607 0 0 1,079 1,775
45,100 45,150 0 0 0 596 0 0 1,068 1,765
45,150 45,200 0 0 0 585 0 0 1,058 1,754
45,200 45,250 0 0 0 575 0 0 1,047 1,744
45,250 45,300 0 0 0 564 0 0 1,037 1,733
45,300 45,350 0 0 0 554 0 0 1,026 1,723
45,350 45,400 0 0 0 543 0 0 1,016 1,712
45,400 45,450 0 0 0 533 0 0 1,005 1,702
45,450 45,500 0 0 0 522 0 0 995 1,691
45,500 45,550 0 0 0 512 0 0 984 1,681
45,550 45,600 0 0 0 501 0 0 974 1,670
* If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $39,250 but less than $39,296, and you have one qualifying child, your credit is $4.
If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $39,296 or more, and you have one qualifying child, you can’t take the credit.
** If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $44,600 but less than $44,648, and you have two qualifying children, your credit is $5.
If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $44,648 or more, and you have two qualifying children, you can’t take the credit.
*** If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $44,800 but less than $44,846, and you have one qualifying child, your credit is $4. If
the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $44,846 or more, and you have one qualifying child, you can't take the credit.
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
(Continued)
Publication 596 (2016) Page 35
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
45,600 45,650 0 0 0 491 0 0 963 1,660
45,650 45,700 0 0 0 480 0 0 952 1,649
45,700 45,750 0 0 0 470 0 0 942 1,638
45,750 45,800 0 0 0 459 0 0 931 1,628
45,800 45,850 0 0 0 449 0 0 921 1,617
45,850 45,900 0 0 0 438 0 0 910 1,607
45,900 45,950 0 0 0 428 0 0 900 1,596
45,950 46,000 0 0 0 417 0 0 889 1,586
46,000 46,050 0 0 0 406 0 0 879 1,575
46,050 46,100 0 0 0 396 0 0 868 1,565
46,100 46,150 0 0 0 385 0 0 858 1,554
46,150 46,200 0 0 0 375 0 0 847 1,544
46,200 46,250 0 0 0 364 0 0 837 1,533
46,250 46,300 0 0 0 354 0 0 826 1,523
46,300 46,350 0 0 0 343 0 0 816 1,512
46,350 46,400 0 0 0 333 0 0 805 1,502
46,400 46,450 0 0 0 322 0 0 795 1,491
46,450 46,500 0 0 0 312 0 0 784 1,481
46,500 46,550 0 0 0 301 0 0 773 1,470
46,550 46,600 0 0 0 291 0 0 763 1,459
46,600 46,650 0 0 0 280 0 0 752 1,449
46,650 46,700 0 0 0 270 0 0 742 1,438
46,700 46,750 0 0 0 259 0 0 731 1,428
46,750 46,800 0 0 0 248 0 0 721 1,417
46,800 46,850 0 0 0 238 0 0 710 1,407
46,850 46,900 0 0 0 227 0 0 700 1,396
46,900 46,950 0 0 0 217 0 0 689 1,386
46,950 47,000 0 0 0 206 0 0 679 1,375
47,000 47,050 0 0 0 196 0 0 668 1,365
47,050 47,100 0 0 0 185 0 0 658 1,354
47,100 47,150 0 0 0 175 0 0 647 1,344
47,150 47,200 0 0 0 164 0 0 637 1,333
47,200 47,250 0 0 0 154 0 0 626 1,323
47,250 47,300 0 0 0 143 0 0 616 1,312
47,300 47,350 0 0 0 133 0 0 605 1,301
47,350 47,400 0 0 0 122 0 0 594 1,291
47,400 47,450 0 0 0 112 0 0 584 1,280
47,450 47,500 0 0 0 101 0 0 573 1,270
47,500 47,550 0 0 0 91 0 0 563 1,259
47,550 47,600 0 0 0 80 0 0 552 1,249
47,600 47,650 0 0 0 69 0 0 542 1,238
47,650 47,700 0 0 0 59 0 0 531 1,228
47,700 47,750 0 0 0 48 0 0 521 1,217
47,750 47,800 0 0 0 38 0 0 510 1,207
47,800 47,850 0 0 0 27 0 0 500 1,196
47,850 47,900 0 0 0 17 0 0 489 1,186
47,900 47,950 0 0 0 6 0 0 479 1,175
47,950 48,000 0 0 0 * 0 0 468 1,165
48,000 48,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 458 1,154
48,050 48,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 447 1,144
48,100 48,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 437 1,133
48,150 48,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 426 1,122
48,200 48,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 415 1,112
48,250 48,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 405 1,101
48,300 48,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 394 1,091
48,350 48,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 384 1,080
48,400 48,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 373 1,070
48,450 48,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 363 1,059
48,500 48,550 0 0 0 0 0 0 352 1,049
48,550 48,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 342 1,038
48,600 48,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 331 1,028
48,650 48,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 321 1,017
48,700 48,750 0 0 0 0 0 0 310 1,007
48,750 48,800 0 0 0 0 0 0 300 996
48,800 48,850 0 0 0 0 0 0 289 986
48,850 48,900 0 0 0 0 0 0 279 975
48,900 48,950 0 0 0 0 0 0 268 965
48,950 49,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 258 954
49,000 49,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 247 943
49,050 49,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 236 933
49,100 49,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 226 922
49,150 49,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 215 912
49,200 49,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 205 901
49,250 49,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 194 891
49,300 49,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 184 880
49,350 49,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 173 870
49,400 49,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 163 859
49,450 49,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 152 849
49,500 49,550 0 0 0 0 0 0 142 838
49,550 49,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 131 828
And your filing status is—
If the amount you
are looking up from
the worksheet is—
Single, head of household,
or qualifying widow(er)
and you have—
Married filing jointly and you
have—
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
At least But less
than
Your credit is— Your credit is—
49,600 49,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 121 817
49,650 49,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 807
49,700 49,750 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 796
49,750 49,800 0 0 0 0 0 0 89 786
49,800 49,850 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 775
49,850 49,900 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 764
49,900 49,950 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 754
49,950 50,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 743
50,000 50,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 733
50,050 50,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 722
50,100 50,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 712
50,150 50,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 ** 701
50,200 50,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 691
50,250 50,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 680
50,300 50,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 670
50,350 50,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 659
50,400 50,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 649
50,450 50,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 638
50,500 50,550 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 628
50,550 50,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 617
50,600 50,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 607
50,650 50,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 596
50,700 50,750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 585
50,750 50,800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 575
50,800 50,850 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 564
50,850 50,900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 554
50,900 50,950 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 543
50,950 51,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 533
51,000 51,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 522
51,050 51,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 512
51,100 51,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 501
51,150 51,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 491
51,200 51,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 480
51,250 51,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 470
51,300 51,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 459
51,350 51,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 449
51,400 51,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 438
51,450 51,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 428
51,500 51,550 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 417
51,550 51,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 406
51,600 51,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 396
51,650 51,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 385
51,700 51,750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 375
51,750 51,800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 364
51,800 51,850 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 354
51,850 51,900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 343
51,900 51,950 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 333
51,950 52,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 322
52,000 52,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 312
52,050 52,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 301
52,100 52,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 291
52,150 52,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 280
52,200 52,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 270
52,250 52,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 259
52,300 52,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 248
52,350 52,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 238
52,400 52,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 227
52,450 52,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 217
52,500 52,550 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 206
52,550 52,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 196
52,600 52,650 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 185
52,650 52,700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 175
52,700 52,750 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 164
52,750 52,800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 154
52,800 52,850 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 143
52,850 52,900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 133
52,900 52,950 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 122
52,950 53,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 112
53,000 53,050 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 101
53,050 53,100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 91
53,100 53,150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80
53,150 53,200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 69
53,200 53,250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 59
53,250 53,300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48
53,300 53,350 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38
53,350 53,400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27
53,400 53,450 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17
53,450 53,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
53,500 53,505 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
* If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $47,950 but less than $47,955 and you have three qualifying children, your credit is
$1. If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $47,955 or more, and you have three qualifying children, you can't take the credit.
** If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is at least $50,150 but less than $50,198 and you have two qualifying children, your credit is $5.
If the amount you are looking up from the worksheet is $50,198 or more, and you have two qualifying children, you can't take the credit.
Earned Income Credit (EIC) Table - Continued (Caution. This is not a tax table.)
Page 36 Publication 596 (2016)
To help us develop a more useful index, please let us know if you have ideas for index entries.
See “Comments and Suggestions” in the “Introduction” for the ways you can reach us.Index
A
Adopted child 9
Adoption taxpayer identification
number (ATIN) 12
Age test (See Qualifying child)
Alaska Permanent Fund
dividends 7
Alimony 8
Annuities 8
Armed forces 8, 11, 12, 17, 19
B
Basic Allowance for Housing
(BAH) 8
Basic Allowance for Subsistence
(BAS) 8
Birth of child 11
C
California domestic partner 8
Child:
Adopted child 9
Birth or death of 11
Foster child 9, 15, 17
Kidnapped child 11
Married child 12
Child support 8
Clergy 18
Combat zone pay 19
Community property 4, 8
Conservation Reserve Program
payments 8
D
Death of child 11
Death of spouse 16
Death of taxpayer 16
Detailed examples 22
Disability benefits 8
Disabled 11
Disallowance of the EIC 21
Dividend income 8
Divorced parents, special rule 14
Domestic partner 8
E
Earned income 7
Earned income credit (EIC)
EITC Assistant 3
Examples, detailed 22
Extended active duty 11, 17
F
Figuring EIC yourself 18, 19
Filing status:
Head of household 5
Married filing separately 5
Forms:
1040 2, 4, 5
1040A 4, 5
1040EZ 4, 5
1040X 4
2555 5
2555–EZ 5
4029 7, 8
4361 7, 8
4797 2
8814 2
8862 21
Foster care payments 8
Foster child 9, 15, 17
Fraud 21, 22
H
Head of household 4, 5, 8, 12
Help, tax 26
Home:
Homeless shelter 17
Military 17
United States 17
Homeless 11, 17
How to get tax help 26
I
Identity theft 26
Income that is not earned income 8
Individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN) 5, 12
Inmate 8, 18
Interest 8
Investment income 5
IRS can figure EIC for you 19
J
Joint return test (See Qualifying
child)
K
Kidnapped child 11
M
Married child 12
Married filing a joint return 5
Married filing separately 5
Medicaid waiver payments 18
Military:
Combat pay 8
Nontaxable pay 8
Outside U.S. 11
Minister 7, 18
N
Net earnings, selfemployment 7
Nevada domestic partner 8
Nonresident alien 5, 22
O
Online help:
EITC Assistant 3
P
Parents, divorced or
separated 12–14
Partner, domestic 8
Passive activity 6
Pensions 8
Permanently and totally
disabled 11
Prisoner 18
Publications (See Tax help)
Q
Qualifying child 2, 3, 9
Age test 9
Home 11
Joint return test 9
Permanently and totally
disabled 11
Relationship test 9
Residency test 11
United States 11
R
Railroad retirement benefits 8
Registered domestic partner 8
Relationship test (See Qualifying
child)
Reminders 3
Residency test (See Qualifying child)
S
Salaries, wages, and tips 7, 18
Schedules:
C 19
C-EZ 19
Publication 596 (2016) Page 37
EIC 9, 11, 18–20
SE 18–20
School 11
Selfemployed persons 7, 18, 19
Selfemployment income 18
Selfemployment tax 19
Separated parents, special rule 12
Social security benefits 8
Social security number (SSN) 4, 5,
12, 21
Statutory employee 7, 18–20
Strike benefits 7
Student 9
T
Tax help 26
Taxpayer identification number:
Adoption identification number
(ATIN) 12
Individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN) 5
Social security number (SSN) 5
Tiebreaker rules 12
Tips, wages, and salaries 7, 18
U
Unemployment compensation 8
United States 11
V
Veterans' benefits 8
W
Wages, salaries, and tips 7, 18
Washington domestic partner 8
Welfare benefits 8
Workers' compensation benefits 8
Workfare payments 8
Worksheet 1 6
Worksheet 2 7
Page 38 Publication 596 (2016)