Calculators
Earned income credit table for 2025 and 2026
The IRS prints the credit in $50 bands, in about thirty pages of the Form 1040 instructions. Type an amount and read your line, with the bands just above and below.
Look up your line of the EIC table
Line "at least $21,000 but less than $21,050", single or head of household
$7,152
| At least | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,900 | 0 | 4,328 | 7,152 | 8,046 |
| $20,950 | 0 | 4,328 | 7,152 | 8,046 |
| $21,000 | 0 | 4,328 | 7,152 | 8,046 |
| $21,050 | 0 | 4,328 | 7,152 | 8,046 |
| $21,100 | 0 | 4,328 | 7,152 | 8,046 |
Same figures as the table in the 2025 Form 1040 instructions. Investment income must not exceed $11,950.
The Earned Income Credit Table is the part of the Form 1040 instructions that turns an income into a credit without any arithmetic. Each line covers a $50 band of earned income or AGI, from $1 to the end of the credit, and gives eight amounts: no qualifying child, one, two, and three or more, first for single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse and qualifying married filing separately, then for married filing jointly. The IRS computes each amount at the middle of its band, using the rates and limits of the revenue procedure for the year, and rounds to the dollar. This page computes the same way: for 2025 we checked all 1,366 lines and 10,928 amounts against the table printed by the IRS, with no difference. For 2026, filed in 2027, the table is built the same way from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, ahead of the IRS publication.
Read one line of the IRS EIC table
Table line $15,000 to $15,050, 1 child
$4,328
| Tax year | 2025 |
| Column | Single, head of household, MFS |
| Credit rate on the first dollars | 34% |
IRS and state rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
How to read a line
Find the band that contains your income, for example "at least $21,000 but less than $21,050". Go across to the column for your number of qualifying children and your filing status. That number is your credit, provided the other tests are met: the investment income limit, the Social Security numbers, the age range for a worker without a child, and the rules for a qualifying child. The tool above shows two bands on each side, so you can see how fast the credit moves around your income.
The columns stop at three children. A fourth or fifth child changes nothing for the federal credit, although some state credits and the child tax credit count every child.
Where the table comes from
Every amount in the table follows from four figures per column, set each year by revenue procedure: the credit rate, the earned income amount at which the credit reaches its maximum, the income at which it begins to fall, and the phase-out rate. For 2025, Rev. Proc. 2024-40 sets them; for 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
| Children | Credit rate | Maximum 2025 | Reached at | Ends at (single) | Ends at (joint) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 7.65% | $649 | $8,490 | $19,104 | $26,214 |
| 1 | 34.00% | $4,328 | $12,730 | $50,434 | $57,554 |
| 2 | 40.00% | $7,152 | $17,880 | $57,310 | $64,430 |
| 3 or more | 45.00% | $8,046 | $17,880 | $61,555 | $68,675 |
The bands at the turning points are where the table and the formula part ways most. A band that contains the earned income amount gives the full maximum, even though its middle is a little below it. A band that contains the start of the phase-out keeps the full credit too: the IRS starts reducing only from the first band that lies entirely above the threshold. Our engine follows both rules, which is why it reproduces the printed table exactly.
The 2026 columns
For 2026 the maximums rise to $664, $4,427, $7,316 and $8,231 and the credit ends at $62,974 for a single parent of three, $70,244 on a joint return. Switch the year in the tool to see the 2026 line for your income. A return for 2026 is filed in 2027, so these amounts concern the next filing season, not the one now open.
Using the table on a return
The IRS worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions asks for the table amount at your earned income, then, if your AGI is different and above the phase-out start, the amount at your AGI. The smaller one goes on the earned income credit line of Form 1040. Families with a qualifying child also attach Schedule EIC, which lists the children. Publication 596 has the same table with longer explanations.
The federal credit at your income, by number of children
Federal EITC 2025, $22,000 earned, 2 children
$7,152
| No qualifying child | $0 |
| 1 child | $4,328 |
| 3 or more children | $8,046 |
Without a child, you or your spouse must be 25 to 64 at year end.