H&R Block alerts taxpayers to common earned income tax credit errors

Roughly 20% of eligible people don’t claim Earned Income Tax Credit while the IRS audits more than 330,000 for EITC errors

About 25 million workers and families claimed about $61 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) during 2019, or an average of $2,504. Yet only about 78% of those eligible claim the EITC, which means about 1 in 5 eligible taxpayers are missing out on the EITC and the maximum refund possible. At the same time, the IRS sent audit letters to over 330,000 EIC recipients questioning their eligibility for the credit.

Lack of awareness about EITC rules can cost both taxpayers who fail to claim the credit when they should and those who do claim it but make unintentional earned income tax credit errors on their returns, possibly leading to IRS inquiries and even delaying or reducing their refunds. The Earned Income Credit rules, explained, an article from The Tax Institute at H&R Block, alerts taxpayers to the tricky rules around the EITC that can lead to common errors on tax returns.