{ "id": "R43763", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43763", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 435362, "date": "2014-10-31", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:58:13.489103", "title": "The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Legislation in the 113th Congress", "summary": "The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit available to eligible workers earning relatively low wages. (Because the credit is refundable, an EITC recipient need not owe taxes to receive the benefit.) Under current law, the EITC is calculated based on a recipient\u2019s earnings, using one of eight different formulas, which vary depending on several factors, including the number of qualifying children a tax filer has (zero, one, two, or three or more) and his or her marital status (unmarried or married). \nAll else being equal, the amount of the credit tends to increase with the number of eligible children the claimant has. For example, the maximum value of the credit in 2014 is $496 for claimants with zero children; $3,305 for claimants with one qualifying child; $5,460 for claimants with two qualifying children; and $6,143 for claimants with three or more qualifying children. In addition, tax filers who have no qualifying children must be between 25 and 64 years of age to be eligible for the EITC. Childless taxpayers under 25 and older than 64 years of age are not eligible for the credit. (There is no age requirement for tax filers with qualifying children.)\nThis report discusses and analyzes legislative proposals introduced in the 113th Congress that propose modifying the EITC. Some of the bills include provisions to expand the credit for childless workers, by increasing the amount of the credit for these workers (through changes to the formula) and by expanding eligibility. Proposals that expand the credit for childless workers include the following:\nH.R. 4117, which would lower the age limit for childless workers to 21 and expand the size of the credit for childless workers, increasing the maximum credit to an estimated $1,500; \nH.R. 2116, S. 836, and S. 2162, which would lower the age limit for childless workers from 25 to 21 and expand the size of the credit for childless workers, increasing the maximum credit to an estimated $1,350;\nH.R. 2359, which would increase the size of the credit for childless recipients to an estimated $1,300; and\nthe Obama Administration\u2019s FY2015 budget, which would expand eligibility for childless workers to include those 21-67 years of age and expand the size of the credit for childless workers, increasing the maximum credit to an estimated $1,000.\nSome bills would also expand the credit for workers with qualifying children. H.R. 2116, S. 836, and the FY2015 Administration budget proposal would make the temporary 45% credit rate for families with three or more children permanent. In addition, H.R. 2320 would expand the EITC for tax filers with four, five, six, and seven or more qualifying children. \nChairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp\u2019s tax reform proposal would reduce the amount of the EITC for most tax filers, although these reductions could be offset by other tax law changes made by the proposal.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43763", "sha1": "9183e0b9829fe762942789d512ac7a747106f938", "filename": "files/20141031_R43763_9183e0b9829fe762942789d512ac7a747106f938.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43763", "sha1": "be687fadc1ccf81b3e53e9bde1196685ece13b2e", "filename": "files/20141031_R43763_be687fadc1ccf81b3e53e9bde1196685ece13b2e.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 350, "name": "Individual and Family Tax Policy" } ] } ], "topics": [] }