The short answer is YES, however that being said, it’s important to note, that in order for you to qualify for the EIC your dependents would need to be your step children, by legal marriage, adoption, or under legal guardian ship. Although these specifications weren’t closely monitored by the IRS in the past. As of Dec 2017 amid the new tax bill. They inserted a passage which details these particular tax credits and reform. This reform is intended on cutting back on tax refunds, which I suppose they felt were being sent out to earners who were not originally entitled to them. When the EIC program began several decades ago, it was an incentive to get parents back to work, after having children. Many mothers stayed home to care for their children and some felt it was costly to pay for child care, and so forth. Basically it was a tax credit for those who had children. Throughout the years the EITC became a money grab for many tax payers, including many of which were not technically entitled to it. The EIC rather has paid out billions of dollars to earners, and the IRS has paid it blindly, and mostly without question. Although you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn’t get audited or be randomly selected for a review. The last couple years millions of tax payers have gotten audited, sanctioned and the like. Tax refunds have been delayed, placed on hold, and so on... Many who have not yet experienced this headache, I’m certain they will in the coming years. They are going to be reviewing practically every tax return going forward in order to catch tax payers and correct their refunds. They are specifically going to make sure that those who are claiming dependents are indeed rightfully entitled to do so. They will request documents that will support your claim. If they’re step children, then they will ask you to provide a marriage certificate, and it must be dated in or before the income tax year in question. If adoption is the case, then legal documents will be asked to support those facts, etc. Like I said, if you file and claim dependents they are delaying those refunds by a few extra weeks. Not everyone will be under review, or audited right away, but expect to be in the coming years. More so if your taxes are being done by self preparing tax services. It’s more likely to slip through the cracks if your taxes are done by a professional licensed tax consultant, because most have been recently educated in verifying these specificities. Now, if you claim dependents, and are legally entitled, you may not qualify for the EITC but I believe there are other credits you may be able to receive.
