Earned Income Tax Credit: Who Qualifies and the 2025 Limits

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is worth up to $649 for a worker with no qualifying children and up to $8,046 for a worker with three or more, for tax year 2025. You claim it on your federal return, and the amount depends on your earned income, adjusted gross income (AGI), filing status, and number of qualifying children. This is the return filed in 2026; as of October 2026 the IRS EITC tables page (last reviewed 8 May 2026) lists tax year 2025 as the latest year.

1. The 2025 limits

To get any credit, your AGI must be below the limit for your situation. The IRS lists these maximum AGI amounts for tax year 2025:

Investment income must be $11,950 or less for the year. The maximum credit amounts are:

These are ceilings. The credit you actually receive depends on where your income falls within the range, so a household near the AGI limit gets far less than the maximum. Use the IRS EITC Assistant to see your own amount.

For comparison, the IRS table for tax year 2024 lists $4,213 as the one-child maximum, so the 2025 figure is $115 higher, a rise of about 2.7%.

2. Tax year 2026 figures are already published

The IRS published the 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts in Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (October 2025). They apply to returns filed in 2027, not to the 2025 return described above. The maximum credit for 2026 is $664 with no children, $4,427 with one, $7,316 with two, and $8,231 with three or more. The investment income limit rises to $12,200. The IRS had not yet put 2026 on its EITC tables page as of October 2026, so use the 2025 table for a return you are filing now.

3. What counts as earned income

The credit is tied to work. The IRS counts as earned income:

• Wages, salaries, and tips reported on a W-2.
• Net earnings from self-employment, including running a business or farm.
• Tip income not reported to your employer.
• Income from gig work where no tax was withheld, such as driving for booked rides or deliveries, running errands, selling goods online, renting equipment, or freelance work.
• Household employee wages, taxable union strike benefits, and some other items listed on the IRS page.

The IRS says earned income does not include interest and dividends, pensions or annuities, Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, alimony, or child support.

4. The basic qualifying rules

According to the IRS, you must:

1. Have earned income.
2. Have investment income below the limit.
3. Have a valid Social Security number by the due date of your return, including extensions. This also applies to your spouse if filing jointly and to any child you claim.
4. Be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year.
5. Not file Form 2555 for foreign earned income.
6. Meet extra rules if you are separated from your spouse and not filing jointly.

Eligible filing statuses are single, married filing jointly, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, and in limited cases married filing separately.

5. Claiming it without children

You can qualify with no qualifying child if you meet the basic rules and also:

• Lived in the United States for more than half the year.
• Cannot be claimed as a qualifying child or dependent of someone else.
• Are at least 25 but under 65 at the end of the year. If you file jointly, at least one spouse must meet the age rule.

The maximum for this group is the smallest, $649 for tax year 2025, but it is still real money for a worker who would otherwise skip filing.

6. Where to get the return done for free

The credit is claimed on your federal return. The IRS page links to two free options: self-prepared free electronic filing, and free tax preparation by IRS-certified volunteers. It also offers an online EITC Assistant that walks through the qualification questions.

7. Key takeaways

• For tax year 2025 the maximum EITC is $649, $4,328, $7,152, or $8,046 for zero, one, two, or three-plus children.
• AGI limits run from $19,104 (single, no children) to $68,675 (joint, three or more children).
• Investment income must be $11,950 or less.
• Gig and self-employment income count as earned income; Social Security, unemployment, and child support do not.
• Without a qualifying child, you must be at least 25 and under 65.