What Are the EITC Age Limit Requirements?
Eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit depends on nuanced age rules that change based on your household and individual circumstances.
The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, is a refundable tax credit designed for working individuals and families with low-to-moderate incomes. Eligibility for this credit is determined by a number of factors that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) evaluates, including income limitations and filing status. The rules can be complex, and failure to meet any single requirement can result in ineligibility.
Age Requirements for a Qualifying Child
To claim the EITC with a qualifying child, the child must meet one of three specific age tests by the end of the tax year. The first and most common is the general rule, which states the child must be under the age of 19 at the end of the year. This child must also be younger than the taxpayer, or the taxpayer’s spouse if filing a joint return. For example, if a child turns 19 on December 31st, they no longer meet this specific age test for that tax year.
A different age test applies to children who are students. A child who is under the age of 24 at the end of the tax year and was a full-time student for at least part of five calendar months during that year can be a qualifying child. The IRS defines a full-time student as someone enrolled for the number of hours or courses the educational institution considers to be full-time attendance. This includes enrollment at colleges, universities, and technical, trade, or mechanical schools, but not online-only schools or on-the-job training courses.
The third age-related rule for a qualifying child applies in cases of disability. If a child is permanently and totally disabled at any time during the tax year, there is no age limit for them to be considered a qualifying child for the EITC. The IRS defines “permanently and totally disabled” as a condition where an individual cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition. A doctor must determine that the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.
Age Requirements for Taxpayers Without a Qualifying Child
Individuals who do not have a qualifying child may still be eligible to claim the EITC, but they must meet a distinct set of age requirements. To qualify, the taxpayer must be at least 25 years old but under the age of 65 at the end of the tax year.
If a married couple is filing a joint return and does not have a qualifying child, the rules are slightly more flexible. In this scenario, only one of the spouses needs to meet the age requirement of being at least 25 but under 65. This allows a couple where one spouse is, for example, 24 or 66 to still potentially qualify for the credit based on the other spouse’s age.
The age parameters for childless taxpayers have seen recent changes. For the 2021 tax year only, the American Rescue Plan Act temporarily lowered the minimum age for childless workers to 19. That provision has since expired, and the standard age requirement of 25 to 64 is now the rule that taxpayers must follow.
Special Age-Related Rules
An individual cannot claim the EITC if they themselves can be claimed as a qualifying child on another person’s tax return. For instance, a 22-year-old full-time college student who works part-time and is claimed as a dependent by their parents cannot claim the EITC for themselves, even if they meet the income requirements.
The IRS uses “tie-breaker” rules when a child meets the requirements to be a qualifying child for more than one person. This situation often arises with divorced or separated parents. If a child meets the age, relationship, and residency tests for two separate people, the IRS has specific guidelines to determine who has the right to claim the child for the EITC, often prioritizing the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period during the year.