Why do I qualify for an Earned Income Credit when I have never received one before and am not claiming any dependent children?

It depends. You do not need to claim anyone for the Earned Income Credit. 

To qualify for and claim the Earned Income Credit you must:

• Have earned income; and
• Have been a U.S. citizen or resident alien for the entire tax year; and
• Have a valid Social Security number (not an ITIN) for yourself, your spouse (if filing jointly), and any qualifying children on your return; and
• Not have investment income exceeding $10,000; and
• Not be filing a Form 2555 or 2555-EZ; and
• File a return with the Single, Married Filing Jointly, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widower filing status, even if you're not required to file a return.

In addition, both your earned income and Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) may not exceed:

• $21,430 if you're not claiming a qualifying child ($27,380 if filing jointly);
• $42,158 if you're claiming 1 qualifying child ($48,108 if filing jointly);
• $47,915 if you're claiming 2 qualifying children ($53,865 if filing jointly);
• $51,464 if you're claiming 3+ qualifying children ($57,414 if filing jointly).

One more thing—if you're not claiming a qualifying child:

You (and your jointly filing spouse) can't be claimed as a qualifying child or dependent on anyone else's return, and

• You must be at least 18 if you are a qualified former foster youth or a qualified homeless youth, regardless of whether or not you are a specified student
• You must be at least age 19 if you aren't a specified student, qualified former foster youth, or qualified homeless youth
• You must be at least age 24 if you are a specified student, unless you are a qualified former foster youth, or qualified homeless youth

• the minimum age to be eligible is now lowered to 19. This minimum is further lowered to 18 for qualified homeless or former foster youth. Note, however, that eligible students (those who are enrolled in a degree program with at least a half-time course load for five calendar months of the tax year) must be at least 24 to be eligible for the EIC. Finally, the upper age limit has been completely removed, which means that taxpayers over 65 can now claim the EIC during the 2021 tax year.
• Percentage and threshold changes: The credit percentage at which the EIC phases in/out has been increased to 15.3% in 2021 (previously 7.65%), and the credit maximum is reached at an earned income amount of $9,820 (previously $7,100). The AGI/earned income threshold at which the EIC begins to phase out has been raised to $11,610 (previously $8,880) for single taxpayers and $16,610 (previously $14,820) for joint filers. As a result of these changes, the maximum EIC that could be claimed by a childless taxpayer increases from $543 to $1,502.

Changes for taxpayers with children

A few changes apply specifically to taxpayers with children, and are in effect in 2021 and beyond.

• Identification requirements for children:Previously, taxpayers with qualifying children who were unable to provide a name, age, and valid Social Security Number for their children were not eligible to claim the EIC. However, with the ARPA changes, these taxpayers can now claim the childless EIC if they meet the income requirements.
• Married filing separately taxpayers:Taxpayers with a status of “married filing separately” who have qualifying children can now claim the EIC using this filing status if: a) they resided with the qualifying child for more than half the tax year, and b) they either lived separately from their spouse during the last six months of the year, or have a written separation decree/agreement and lived separately from the spouse as of the end of the tax year. Thus, a taxpayer filing separately who separated from their spouse near the end of the tax year (with a written decree) will now be eligible for the EIC. Previously, a separated spouse who desired to claim the EIC had to qualify to file as head of household, which, among other requirements, included only the more stringent test of living separately from the spouse during the last six months of the tax year.

Changes for all taxpayers

Two more changes apply to taxpayers with and without qualifying children.

• Investment income: The cap on investment income has been raised for purposes of qualifying for the EIC. Beginning in 2021, an individual can now claim the EIC with up to $10,000 of investment income (which will be indexed for inflation in future years). Before this change, individuals were prevented from claiming the EIC if they had investment income over $3,650.
• Earned income lookback rule: For tax year 2021, the taxpayer may elect to look back two years and use 2019 earned income instead of 2021 earned income for purposes of calculating the credit. This is optional and can be used if the 2019 earnings will increase the amount of credit that can be claimed.