State credits

Massachusetts earned income tax credit

Massachusetts raised its credit to 40% of the federal amount in its 2023 tax law, among the highest shares in the country.

Massachusetts and federal earned income credit calculator

Tax year

Interest, unemployment, pensions

More details: age, children's ages, investment income, state tax

Matters only without a qualifying child

Federal limit $11,950

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Credits for tax year 2025, head of household, 2 qualifying children

$13,077

Federal EITC$7,010
Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit$2,804
Child tax credit, lowers your tax$38
Additional child tax credit, refundable$3,225

Phase-out: each extra dollar lowers the federal credit; federal maximum $7,152, nothing from $57,310.

$1,137 of child tax credit is lost: it exceeds your federal tax and the refundable cap.

Rules of the Massachusetts credit

The Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit equals 40% of the federal earned income credit and is refundable. It is claimed on line 39 of Form 1, the resident return. With two children at the 2025 federal maximum of $7,152, it adds $2,861; with one child, $1,731; with three or more, $3,218; without a qualifying child, up to $260. The rate went from 30% to 40% with the tax relief law of 2023. Massachusetts follows the federal eligibility rules, so a filer must qualify for the federal credit first, including the Social Security number test. A part-year resident's credit is reduced in proportion to the months of residency. For 2026 the rate stays at 40% of the higher federal amounts. The Department of Revenue page lists the credit with its form references.

IRS and state rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources

The Massachusetts credit in one table

Read at the official source on November 1, 2026.
NameMassachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit
FormForm 1, line 39
Administered byMassachusetts Department of Revenue
Tax year 202540% of the federal credit
Tax year 202640% of the federal credit
Refundablerefundable
ITIN filersnot accepted (same SSN rule as federal)
Worker without a qualifying childfederal age rule, 25 to 64

Massachusetts and the child credit

Massachusetts also has a Child and Family Tax Credit with its own amount per child, separate from this earned income credit and not computed here. The Department of Revenue page gives both.

Massachusetts credit by income, tax year 2025

State credit only, before any cap at state tax. Single filer without a child, head of household with children, age 30, no other income; the calculator above adds the federal credit.
Earned incomeNo child1 child2 children3 or more
$5,000$154$684$804$904
$10,000$260$1,364$1,604$1,804
$15,000$125$1,731$2,404$2,704
$20,000$0$1,731$2,861$3,218
$25,000$0$1,624$2,720$3,077
$30,000$0$1,304$2,298$2,656
$40,000$0$665$1,456$1,814
$50,000$0$26$614$971
$60,000$0$0$0$129

Questions people ask

What is the largest Massachusetts earned income credit for 2025?

For tax year 2025, filed in 2026, the calculator finds at most $1,731 with one qualifying child, $2,861 with two and $3,218 with three or more, and $260 for a worker without a qualifying child. These are the peaks of the curve for a head of household; your amount depends on your earned income and AGI.

Is the Massachusetts credit refundable?

Yes. Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit is refundable: when it is larger than the Massachusetts tax you owe, the difference is paid to you, and a household with no Massachusetts tax at all receives the full amount. That makes it worth the same to a worker with low income as to one who owes tax. You claim it on Form 1, line 39.

Who runs the Massachusetts credit and where is it claimed?

Massachusetts Department of Revenue administers it, and the claim goes on Form 1, line 39, filed with your Massachusetts income tax return for the same year. It starts from your federal earned income credit, so the federal return comes first and its figures carry over. Free File, the IRS free filing program, and VITA sites prepare state returns in many states at no charge.

Check next

EITC calculator

Earned income, children, state: the federal EITC, your state credit and the child tax credit, added up for 2025 or 2026.

All state credits

Every state credit side by side: rate for 2025 and 2026, refundable or not, ITIN and age rules, ranked for your household.

How much is the EITC

The maximum by number of children, the amount at typical incomes, and what a state adds on top.

Income limits

Where the credit stops in 2025 and 2026, by children and filing status, and where it starts to fall.

How to claim

File a return, add Schedule EIC, claim the state credit: free routes through IRS Free File and VITA.

IRS and state pages behind this page

Written by

Independent publisher of a calculator that adds the federal earned income credit, the state earned income credits and the child tax credit for one household, from the IRS revenue procedures and the state tax codes

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Federal and state earned income credits 2026, read in the IRS revenue procedures and each state tax code, last checked on