I have three children i want to claim for EIC, but my only income was personal sales of crafts and goods out of my home. Am i able to claim this income and file a return?

[amberlynn4126]

i have three children under 18, i have always qualified for EIC before, but this year i did not work outside of the home. my only income was child support, SSI for one child, and sales and tips that i made off of selling products and goods out of my home. I probably made a few hundred dollars this way, but because i never imagined i would possibly make enough to claim or do something with, i didnt keep great invoices in the beginning. Can you give me any insight on how i can still claim the EIC for my children?

thank you

[Texas Roger · Accepted solution]

If the amount of income was more than $400, you must file a tax return to pay self employment taxes. You will qualify for some earned income credit regardless of how low your income, but it may be offset by the self employment tax. You will not qualify for any child tax credit or additional child tax credit unless your net income is at least $3000. Child support and SSI for your child are not taxable and not included on your tax return.

If you have some idea of how much income you had that you didn't keep records on either by looking at bank deposit records or other documents, you can document that and include it as income on your tax return. 

When using the online product, you must upgrade to the Self Employed version to get the Schedule C that is required for entering self employment income.

There is another free product called the Freedom Edition that you can use. It has Schedule C. Here is a link to access it: https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2026912-how-do-i-switch-to-turbotax-freedom-edition