Deductions & credits

The answer is possibly "yes", based on your situation. The Earned Income Tax Credit is a credit given for "earned income", and cleaning houses is an example of earned income.

Note that there are a number of rules for the eligibility for the Earned Income Credit - from the IRS website:

"To claim EITC on your tax return, you must meet all the following rules:

  • You, your spouse (if you file a joint return), and all others listed on Schedule EIC, must have a Social Security number that is valid for employment
  • You must have earned income from working for someone else or owning or running a farm or business
  • Your filing status cannot be married filing separately
  • You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year (If you are a nonresident alien married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien, see Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens)
  • You cannot be a qualifying child of another person
  • You cannot file Form 2555 or Form 2555 EZ (related to foreign earned income)
  • You must meet the earned income, AGI and investment income limits (income limits change each year), see EITC Income Limits for the tax year amounts
  • And you must meet one of the following:
    • Have a qualifying child (see who is a qualifying child below)
    • If you do not have a qualifying child, you must:
      • be age 25 but under 65 at the end of the year,
      • live in the United States for more than half the year, and
      • not qualify as a dependent of another person."

TurboTax will walk you through the process and correctly determine your eligibility.


View solution in original post