Free tax filing and the EITC

What the EITC is

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable federal credit for people who work and have earned income under the limits for their filing status and number of qualifying children. Refundable means you can receive the credit even if you do not owe income tax, but you have to file a return to claim it. The IRS EITC Assistant is the agency's own questionnaire.

The IRS list of earned income includes wages, some self-employment, and certain other pay. It does not include SNAP, interest, pensions, Social Security, unemployment, or child support. Getting SNAP does not by itself qualify you, and the benefit amount is not wages.

Tax year 2025 limits, from the IRS table

For tax year 2025, the IRS EITC table lists these maximum adjusted gross income amounts. Single, head of household, married filing separately, or qualifying surviving spouse: $19,104 with no qualifying child, $50,434 with one, $57,310 with two, and $61,555 with three or more. Married filing jointly: $26,214, $57,554, $64,430, and $68,675. Investment income must be $11,950 or less.

The same table lists maximum credits of $649 with no qualifying child, $4,328 with one, $7,152 with two, and $8,046 with three or more. Those are maximums, not the amount every household receives. Your earned income and filing status change the credit. Use the IRS table and the EITC Assistant rather than a calculator on an unrelated site.

Filing at no cost

For the 2026 filing season, which covered tax year 2025, the IRS said on January 9, 2026 that guided IRS Free File software was available to taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less. Each partner can add its own age, state, or military rules. Fillable Forms, for people who can prepare a return from IRS instructions, were described as having no income limit.

The IRS Free File page reviewed on October 21, 2026 said IRS Free File had closed and to check back in January 2027. That page also described guided software for adjusted gross income of $95,000 or less. The two pages do not name the same dollar limit. When you are ready to file, start at IRS.gov/freefile and use the limit printed there. Starting on a company's own website can send you to a paid product instead of the IRS Free File offer.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) are IRS-sponsored sites where trained volunteers prepare returns at no cost for people who qualify. The IRS site locator lists locations. MilTax is a separate Department of Defense option for eligible service members. BenefitBoost does not prepare returns.

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