Under Earned Income Election it is asking if earned income for 2017 is less than 2016. For both of us it is less and we are filing jointly, do we combine our 2016 earned?

[LinaJ2018]

Yes, you would combine your 2016 earned income for comparison.

In order to qualify for a large Earned Income Credit amount, for hurricane victims, IRS allows you to use 2016 combined income if it's higher than 2017's.

Please also see the attached link for more information

SpecialBreaksEIC