earned income credit

[Anjei]

Do you want to use your 2019 income to calculate this credit instead?

Enter your 2019 earned income.

What exactly asked - adjusted gross income or total income or taxable income?

What line on my 2019 return can I use for this?

[RayW7]

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020 as a stimulus measure to provide relief to those affected by the pandemic. For tax year 2020, the CAA allows taxpayers to use their 2019 earned income if it was higher than their 2020 earned income in calculating the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) as well as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Your AGI is your earned income minus certain adjustments for income that you don't have to pay taxes on, such as IRA contributions.

Your AGI appears on line 8b of the 2019 Form 1040.

-follow this link for more information on earned income-

5 Facts About the Earned Income Tax Credit - TurboTax Tax Tips

Earned Income and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Tables ...

[Anjei]

What if my AGI contains Unemployment benefits?

[DawnC]

If your AGI includes unemployment benefits, right now the income is included in your AGI for 2020, so you may not be eligible for the EIC even if using the 2019 earned income amount.   I don't know if this will be changing or not - we are waiting on guidance from the IRS.   On Tuesday, they issued guidance that stated that UE income is not included when determining whether or not a taxpayer is eligible for the $10,200 exclusion.   They have not stated anything regarding EIC or CTC as of now.   

As soon as we hear about any changes that impact the EIC, we will communicate those changes, but right now, we are just waiting for additional IRS guidance.