If the child is a qualifying child of both parents, they may choose which one will claim the credit. If there are two qualifying children, each parent may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children. If both actually claim the credit on the basis of the same child or children, the parent who is entitled to the credit is the parent with whom the child lived for the longest period of time during the tax year, or the parent with the higher Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the year.

Refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for full discussion of the Earned Income Credit rules.

References:

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit
• Tax Topic 601, Earned income tax credit (EIC)

You may be able to take this credit for 2003 if you did not have a qualifying child and you earned less than $11,230 ($12,230 for married filing jointly). You may also be able to take this credit if you had one qualifying child and you earned less than 29,666 ($30,666 for married filing jointly), or you had more than one qualifying child and you earned less than $33,692 ($34,692 for married filing jointly). Other rules apply. For details, refer to Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit (EIC), or Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

References:

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit
• Tax Topic 601, Earned income tax credit

You can use Form 1040EZ (PDF) when claiming the earned income credit only if you do not have a qualifying child. However, you must meet several requirements to use Form 1040EZ. If you do not meet all of them, you must use Form 1040A (PDF) or Form 1040 (PDF). For additional information on the requirements, refer to Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.

References:

• Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
• Form 1040A (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
• Form 1040EZ (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents
• Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ

If you expect to qualify for the earned income credit in 2004, you may be able to start getting part of the credit with your pay in 2004, instead of waiting until you file your 2004 tax return in 2005. This is called the advance earned income credit or AEIC.

To get part of the credit with your pay, you must expect to have at least one qualifying child, and expect to meet certain other conditions. You cannot get the AEIC if you do not expect to have a qualifying child, even if you will be eligible to claim the earned income credit on your 2003 return. To see if you qualify, refer to Form W-5 (PDF), Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate, or Publication 596, Earned Income Credit. Additional information on the advance earned income credit is also available in Tax Topic 754.

References:

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit
• Tax Topic 754, Form W-5 - advance earned income credit
• Form W-5 (PDF), Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate