Earned income credit is based on two calculations. First, your income earned from working, and second, your total income. With $5000 of earned income, your maximum EIC is around $2000. $5000 would be the correct EIC if you had $25,000 in earned income, but your $20,000 of unemployment compensation does not count as earned income. My guess is you filled out the worksheet incorrectly and TurboTax is correct.
