The 2026 table
Section 4.06 of Revenue Procedure 2025-32 lists the 2026 earned income amounts, maximum credits and phase-out ranges. With three or more qualifying children the maximum credit is $8,231; with two it is $7,316; with one it is $4,427; with none it is $664. The earned income amount — the point at which the maximum is first reached — is $18,290 for two or more children, $13,020 for one child and $8,680 for no children. Phase-out starts at $31,160 of AGI or earned income (whichever is larger) on a joint return, or $23,890 for other filing statuses with children, and at lower figures when there is no child.
The credit increases with earned income at a statutory percentage (7.65% with no child, 34% with one, 40% with two, 45% with three or more) until it hits the maximum. It then stays flat until the phase-out threshold and declines to zero at the completed phase-out amount. If disqualified investment income exceeds $12,200 for 2026, the credit is not allowed at all. Married taxpayers filing separately are generally ineligible; this tool returns zero for that status and does not model the separated-spouse exception described in IRS publications.
A worked plateau and phase-out
A single parent with one qualifying child and $20,000 of earned income and AGI sits between the $13,020 earned-income amount and the $23,890 phase-out start, so the estimate is the full $4,427. The same parent at $10,000 of earned income is still in the phase-in: 34% of $10,000 is $3,400. At $51,593 of AGI the official completed phase-out is reached and the credit is zero. Because the IRS publishes the credit in a table by whole-dollar income, a software package may differ from this formula by a dollar or two in the slope; treat the result as an estimate and confirm with the EITC table in the Form 1040 instructions when those instructions are final.
EITC is refundable, so it can create a refund even when income tax is already zero. Combine it with withholding in the refund calculator, and read the 2026 EITC guide before you assume you qualify.
Reading the output
If the estimate is the official maximum, your earned income and AGI are on the plateau between the earned-income amount and the phase-out start. If it is lower, you are either still in the phase-in or already on the slope down to zero. A $0 result with investment income above $12,200 is the statutory disallowance, not a rounding quirk. A $0 result for married filing separately is the general eligibility rule, not a statement about the narrow separated-spouse exception, which this tool does not apply.
Enter the same earned income in both the earned-income and AGI fields if you have no other income. If you have unemployment, interest or a capital gain, raise AGI accordingly and complete the investment-income field. Then confirm the official “who qualifies” tests — Social Security numbers, residency and relationship — which no browser form can see. The IRS also holds refunds that include this credit until mid-February; that is a payment rule, not a change to the amount shown here.