If you are looking to save money on your taxes, there is no better way other than finding important tax credits such as the earned income tax credit. The earned income tax credit (EITC) is available to individuals and couples who meet certain income eligibility requirements. The credit is based off of your income (and your spouses) and whether you have children and if so, how many. There are other qualifying factors related to receiving the earned income tax credit so check with the IRS website for complete details.


Once you have met the income requirement, the credit amount that you will receive depends on how many children that you have. In general, the more children that you have, the higher tax credit amount you will receive. There are four amounts associated with the earned income credit 2009. The amounts are $457, $3,043, $5,028, and $5,657 for zero, one, two, and three or more children respectively. As you can see, the amount increases as you increase the number of qualifying children.

Income limitations also vary by the number of children that you have. You are allowed to earn a higher income as the number of children that you have increases. The income thresholds for zero, one, two, and three or more children are $13,440, $35,463, $40,295 and $43,279 respectively. If you are filing jointly, the income limitations increase by $5,000 each. For example, the $13,440 limit for no children now becomes $18,440.

Author: Abdullah Patel