Do i have to file jointly in order to get EIC?

[fergie9821]

How do i get the earned income credit when filing separately from my spouse?

[ThomasM125]

You aren't entitled to an earned income credit if you file as married-separate. The only way you can get an earned income credit if you are married is to file as married-joint or as head of household. To file as head of household, you need to have lived apart from your spouse for the last half of the year and maintain a home in which one or more dependents you support live. You can learn more about the head of household status here:  Head of Household filing status

[Mike9241]

there is another rule that may allow you the EIC

you were legally separated according to state law under a written separation agreement or a decree of separate maintenance and didn't live in the same household as your spouse at the end of the year 

IRC 32(d)(2)(B)(iii)(ll)