Are you Eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit?

It's not always easy to know what tax credits you're eligible for, and sometimes you need to claim them in order to get them. Read on to see if you foot the bill for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Also, see the bottom of the page for a list of nearby low income tax preparation assistance sites.

The of 2009 created a new category of families with three or more children and increased the maximum benefit of EITC for tax years 2009 and 2010. The of 2010 extended these changes through 2012.  

In the 2010 tax returns the maximum credit available is $5,666 for workers with three or more qualifying children. But, even workers without qualifying children may be eligible for a smaller credit.

“Millions of workers who did not earn high incomes claimed the EITC last year,” said Doug Shulman, IRS commissioner. “The IRS encourages all eligible taxpayers to claim this valuable credit. Together with our partners, we can help taxpayers file their returns and get the EITC.”

A taxpayer who qualifies for the EITC and earns $48,362 or less last year could receive larger refunds. Over 26 million workers who earn low to moderate incomes received an extra $2,200 from the credit on average.

Eligibility for the EITC is based on a number of factors including earnings, filing status and eligible children. The credit must specifically be claimed on the tax return in order to be eligible, which means you must file a tax return, even if you wouldn't normally.

In order to verify eligibility for EITC go to the online EITC Assistant, which can help taxpayers determine eligibility by answering a few simple questions.

EITC-eligible taxpayers can seek free tax preparation at dozens of Southern California volunteer individual tax assistance sites (VITA). To locate a site, taxpayers should check the IRS website for VITA Sites in California for the site nearest them. Taxpayers can also call 211 for local services or call the IRS at 800-906-9887.

These VITA spots are near Santee:

Home Start - East El Cajon
1123 N. Mollison Avenue
619-283-3624

Home Start - El Cajon
338 W Lexington Avenue
Suite 105
619-283-3624

Alliance for African Assistanc
5952 El Cajon Blvd.
619-794-2380