Do I qualify for the Earned Income Credit?

The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the largest refundable credits in the tax code — meaning it doesn't just reduce your tax to zero, it can pay you money back beyond what you had withheld. It's aimed at low-to-moderate income workers, and having qualifying children makes the credit dramatically larger. The IRS estimates roughly one in five eligible people don't claim it, often because they assume a small amount of income disqualifies them, or they don't realize they qualify at all without children.