Expand Access to the EITC

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit primarily available to low-wage workers with children.

What Can Policymakers Do?

• Expand federal EITC outreach . A significant number of eligible filers are not aware of the federal EITC, and as a result these taxpayers and the local and state economies in which they live lose millions of federal revenue dollars each year.  Likewise, these outreach efforts can also encourage filers to claim the federal  Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit .

• Enact a state EITC . Enacting a state EITC benefits children, families and local and state economies. 

• Maximize the impact of the state EITC . State policymakers can maximize tax relief for low-income working families by making the state EITC refundable and by adjusting the amount of the credit as a percentage of the federal EITC .