What the result means
The result estimates the 2026 Earned Income Tax Credit under the entered standard category. The estimate shows whether the credit is building with earned income, at its maximum plateau, being reduced by the income phaseout, or fully phased out.
The EITC is refundable, which means an allowed credit can exceed federal income tax. That does not make this result the refund. A complete refund or balance due also includes total tax, withholding, estimated payments, other refundable and nonrefundable credits, prior obligations, and return adjustments.
Eligibility comes before the formula
Basic EITC rules generally require earned income, adjusted gross income below the applicable limit, investment income at or below the annual limit, work-valid Social Security numbers issued by the return due date including extensions, and U.S. citizenship or resident-alien status under the applicable rules. A person filing Form 2555 cannot claim the EITC.
You and a spouse on a joint return cannot be another person’s qualifying child. Filing status also matters. Married filing separately is not a general EITC path, although certain separated spouses who meet the statutory living-apart, qualifying-child, and residence requirements can be treated under the nonjoint thresholds.
Choose the special path when these rules are unresolved. A precise dollar result cannot repair an ineligible category.
Qualifying children use EITC rules
An EITC qualifying child must meet relationship, age, residency, joint-return, and Social Security number requirements and cannot be treated as another taxpayer’s qualifying child under the applicable tiebreaker rules. Age is generally under 19, or under 24 for a qualifying full-time student, with a permanent-and-total-disability exception.
These rules differ from the Child Tax Credit, where the ordinary age cutoff is under 17. Do not copy a Child Tax Credit count into this calculator without separately confirming the EITC category.
No-child claims have extra requirements
A taxpayer claiming the EITC without a qualifying child generally must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at year end, live in the United States for more than half the year, and not be another person’s dependent or qualifying child. Joint filers apply the applicable spouse rules from the filing-year instructions.
The calculator assumes these conditions have already been confirmed when “no qualifying children” is selected. It does not infer age or residence from income.
The four 2026 credit categories
IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the 2026 maximum credits at $664 with no qualifying children, $4,427 with one, $7,316 with two, and $8,231 with three or more. It also publishes the earned-income amount at which each category first reaches its maximum.
The maximum is reached at $8,680 of earned income with no qualifying children, $13,020 with one, and $18,290 with two or with three or more. Earning more than that amount does not immediately reduce the credit; a plateau continues until the applicable phaseout threshold.
Why earned income and AGI are separate
Earned income controls the phase-in side of the calculation. It can include taxable employee compensation and qualifying net earnings from self-employment, with specific adjustments. Disability retirement benefits before minimum retirement age and certain other items may require special treatment.
Adjusted gross income is the Form 1040 amount after applicable income and adjustments. For the phaseout, the EITC rules use adjusted gross income or earned income, whichever is greater. Entering only wages can therefore overstate the credit when AGI is higher.
Business revenue is not EITC earned income. A self-employed person generally needs EIC Worksheet B and completed Schedule C, Schedule SE, and related adjustments. Clergy, statutory employees, and church employees can also require Worksheet B treatment.
How the phase-in estimate works
The continuous planning formula applies the credit percentage associated with the selected child category until the published maximum is reached: 7.65% with no qualifying children, 34% with one, 40% with two, and 45% with three or more.
For example, one confirmed qualifying child and $10,000 of EITC earned income produces a $3,400 phase-in amount before any phaseout. At or above the category’s earned-income amount, the published maximum becomes the starting credit.
Joint returns receive a later phaseout start
For one or more qualifying children, the 2026 phaseout begins above $31,160 for married filing jointly and above $23,890 for all other eligible filing paths. With no qualifying children, it begins above $18,140 for married filing jointly and above $10,860 for other eligible paths.
The reduction rate is 7.65% with no qualifying children, 15.98% with one, and 21.06% with two or three or more. The calculator applies that reduction to the amount by which the greater of earned income or AGI exceeds the threshold.
Complete phaseout points are hard stops
For married filing jointly, no credit remains at or above $26,820 with no qualifying children, $58,863 with one, $65,899 with two, or $70,244 with three or more. For all other eligible filing paths, the corresponding completed phaseout amounts are $19,540, $51,593, $58,629, and $62,974.
The official amounts are expressed as strict thresholds: income below the completed phaseout point may still produce a credit, while income at or above it does not.
Investment income can make the credit zero
The 2026 EITC is not allowed when specified investment income exceeds $12,200. Exactly $12,200 does not exceed the limit; $12,200.01 does. This calculator checks that boundary before asking for earned income and AGI.
EITC investment income is a worksheet calculation, not the market value of a brokerage account. It can include taxable and tax-exempt interest, dividends, capital-gain net income, royalty and rental amounts, and other specified items with worksheet adjustments. Use the final filing-year worksheet total.
The final EIC Table can differ from this estimate
The Form 1040 instructions use an EIC Table with $50 income ranges and whole-dollar credits. This calculator uses a smooth percentage formula and rounds the final planning estimate to the nearest dollar. A filing result near a boundary can therefore differ from this page even when the inputs are correct.
Use the final 2026 Form 1040 instructions, EIC Worksheet A or B, and EIC Table for the return. Schedule EIC supplies qualifying-child information after the credit is figured; it is not the amount calculation by itself.
Special earned-income choices need comparison
Nontaxable combat pay can be elected into EITC earned income. The election can increase or decrease the credit depending on where the household sits on the phase-in, plateau, or phaseout curve. Eligible spouses on a joint return can make separate elections. Calculate both allowed paths using the official worksheet.
Form 2555 disqualifies the EITC. Members of the clergy, church employees, statutory employees, taxpayers with self-employment, disability benefits, or income affected by community-property rules may need special earned-income calculations. Do not substitute gross receipts or a payroll deposit.
Prior disallowance and child conflicts can require more
A taxpayer whose EITC was previously reduced or disallowed may need Form 8862 before claiming it again, unless an exception applies. Reckless or fraudulent claims can create multi-year bans. Return software or qualified assistance should resolve the filing requirement before the estimate is treated as usable.
When more than one person could claim the same child, only the person entitled under the qualifying-child and tiebreaker rules should select that child here. The calculator does not compare taxpayers or assign the child.
Keep the EITC separate from other credits
The 2026 Child Tax Credit Calculator estimates CTC, ODC, and regular-method ACTC under different eligibility and income rules. A household may qualify for both systems, one, or neither. Do not subtract one credit from the other.
State earned-income credits also have their own percentages, residency rules, and forms. This page estimates only the federal 2026 EITC.
Official sources and 2026 filing caveat
The maximum credits, earned-income amounts, joint and other phaseout thresholds, completed phaseout amounts, and $12,200 investment-income limit come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.06. The IRS EITC qualification page describes the basic and special eligibility rules.
IRS Publication 596 explains qualifying children, earned income, investment income, Worksheet A and B, combat-pay elections, and the EIC Table. The final 2026 publication and Form 1040 instructions were not yet available when this page was reviewed, so verify them before filing.
This calculator provides educational 2026 federal continuous-formula arithmetic, not tax preparation, tax, legal, custody, immigration, benefits, accounting, or financial advice. It does not establish eligibility, filing status, qualifying-child status, SSN validity, residence, age, earned income, AGI, investment income, a Form 8862 requirement, EIC Table amount, refund, state credit, or final return entry. Verify the final 2026 IRS forms, instructions, records, software, EITC Assistant, and qualified guidance. Official sources were accessed July 27, 2026.