Pamela H in Texas Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Okay, I'm doing my taxes. Yes, I'm weird. I'm using TaxACT and it says that we'll have an Earned Income Credit of whatever amount it was (not a ton, but enough maybe we can go to SeaWorld when we get it :) ). I don't think I know what it is though. I am sure it is because we have so many dependents and foster care stipends don't count as income. That is my only guess. Can anyone tell me anything I need to know about this before I file? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 If you make below a certain amount, it is basically free money. Take it, enjoy! We no longer qualify. Wish we did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 I kinda figure we'll lose it next year considering ds is turning 17 so we lose all his "child" stuff (he'll still be a dependent). But it'll be nice free money :) I need a computer. And I'd like to do a long weekend type vacation nearby. Otherwise, the money is being responsibly saved "just in case." Next year, my big thing will be figuring my daughter when she has her own income. Oh, and the adoption credit which I'm really hoping gets extended as the refund it was this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 EIC is for families who earn pretty low incomes but have chidren/dependents. It phases out at certain incomes (30k?) but if you earn under that, you earn it based on the number of kids you have. (It increases with the amount you earn and then phases out as you get higher incomes, so get the highest EIC if you have some middle (still very low) family income -- maybe 15k? When dh was in vet school and we had babies, he also worked PT and earned maybe 20k/year. We earned so little that we paid $0 in federal income taxes, but we still were refunded a couple thousand dollars due to the EIC (and having the babies. At least back then in the early 90s, EIC was only for families with kids). The EIC is one of the few credits that you can get "refunded" even if you never paid a penny. So, it pays to file your taxes if you have kids and earn little, even if little/nothing was withheld. The idea is that it encourages people who would otherwise probably be entitled to welfare/etc to WORK and EARN money instead of relying on other forms gov't welfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 See, I thought it was for $20K (or possibly $30K if you had several kids?) though I wasn't sure what it was. I guess I thought it was for low income. Our income WAS lower this year, but not particularly low. We've been here before and didn't get anything. So there must be some income-kid ratio or something....maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Oh, I found this: Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than: $43,998 ($49,078 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children $40,964 ($46,044 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children $36,052 ($41,132 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child $13,660 ($18,740 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children Tax Year 2011 maximum credit: $5,751 with three or more qualifying children $5,112 with two qualifying children $3,094 with one qualifying child $464 with no qualifying children So it probably isn't even counting all our dependent children as it seems the most you get it for is 3 kids. And we would have had to make considerably less I guess to get $5700, I guess. That could have been a Disney trip! LOL Of course, we'd probably be struggling a lot more on a day to day basis so Disney probably couldn't happen there either. Now I think I understand a little better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Oh, I found this: Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than: $43,998 ($49,078 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children $40,964 ($46,044 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children $36,052 ($41,132 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child $13,660 ($18,740 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children Tax Year 2011 maximum credit: $5,751 with three or more qualifying children $5,112 with two qualifying children $3,094 with one qualifying child $464 with no qualifying children So it probably isn't even counting all our dependent children as it seems the most you get it for is 3 kids. And we would have had to make considerably less I guess to get $5700, I guess. That could have been a Disney trip! LOL Of course, we'd probably be struggling a lot more on a day to day basis so Disney probably couldn't happen there either. Now I think I understand a little better. We have four qualifying children becase older ds is a full-time college student and we support him. However, we STILL don't qualify! It was verrrry nice when dh was in school, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I would just like to add that, to qualify for the EIC without kids, you have to be 26. DH and I would have received it last year, but we weren't old enough. I just found that to be very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy1k Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I would just like to add that, to qualify for the EIC without kids, you have to be 26. DH and I would have received it last year, but we weren't old enough. I just found that to be very interesting. Some times the tax laws are so...weird. Like losing the child tax credit the year your child turns 17. WHY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 On a different note, I've used TaxAct for years and love it. Have had no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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