The federal government offers tax credits to US citizens to lower their financial burden as it lowers the tax bill. Earned Income Tax Credit is one such credit that offers tax breaks to taxpayers and has the potential to increase their tax refund because it is a refundable credit.
The taxpayers will soon be able to file their tax return and the tax refund date with the EITC claim will depend on when you have filed the tax return and the payment method you have selected. Taxpayers wondering about the EITC refund date and other details can check everything here.
$4,328 EITC Refund Date
The IRS offers Earned Income Tax credits to support low-moderate income people and help them reduce their tax bills. The taxpayers who qualify for the EITC refund receive the credit based on the number of qualifying children. The IRS adjusted the tax credit and other tax provisions every year based on inflation to ensure it matches the cost of living.
Based on the 2025 inflation adjustment, taxpayers will receive $4328 for a single child, where the maximum payout is $8046 for three or more children. Taxpayers who are filing for the 2024 tax year can expect a refund of around $632 to $7830 based on the number of qualifying children.
Taxpayers generally receive the tax refund within 3 weeks if they have e-filed and selected a direct payment method, however, if you have claimed the EITC tax credit, the refund will be restricted to process until 15 Feb due to the PATH Act limitations.
Due to the PATH Act, the IRs can only process the EITC refund after 15 Feb 2025, so, people can expect their refund by the following date if they have filed early tax returns:
- 27 Feb 2025 If you have filed the tax return online, choose to get the refund through direct deposit, and your tax return have no issues.
- The first week of March 2025 if you have selected the physical check as the payment method for the tax refund.
What’s the EITC Refund for the 2024 Tax year?
As we have mentioned earlier, the IRS adjusts the tax credit amount annually based on inflation ahead of the tax year, so the tax refund for the 2024 tax year due in the 2025 tax season will be based on the said adjustment. The EITC maximum credit amount depends on the number of qualifying children you have, filing status, and others, such as:
| Number of Qualifying Children for EITC | EITC Maximum Credit Amount |
| 0 | $632 |
| 01 | $4213 |
| 02 | $6960 |
| 03 or more | $7830 |
The $4328 EITC refund is the maximum credit for one qualifying child that will be due in 2026 for the 2025 tax year.
What’s the income limit for the EITC Refund for the 2024 tax year?
The taxpayers can claim the EITC credit based on their Adjusted gross income, filing status, investment income, and number of qualifying children. Taxpayers can check their income limit based on the filing status, and number of qualifying children, and the investment limit below to understand the EITC payout:
| Number of Qualifying Children for EITC | Filing tax return as head of household, single, or married but filing separately | Filing return jointly as a married couple |
| 0 | $18,591 | $25,511 |
| 01 | $49,084 | $56,004 |
| 02 | $55,768 | $62,688 |
| 03 or more | $59,899 | $66,819 |
The investment income limit for the taxpayers to claim the EITC tax credit with their tax return is $11600 or less. The earnings that count as income in the EITC are wages, tips withheld in Form W-2, income from a job where your employer doesn’t withhold tax, self-employment income, certain disability benefits, benefits from union strike, and nontaxable combat pay
How can you track your EITC Refund?
The IRS allows taxpayers to track their tax refund easily through the Where’s My Refund tool. The tool is accessible on the official IRS website as well as on the IRS2Go app, you can access it anywhere at your convenience and check the EITC refund status.
The Where’s My Refund tool tells the refund status of the current tax year and the prior year as well. However, the timeline to check the refund status may be different depending on the following conditions:
- For the current year’s tax return when you have e-filed the tax return, you can track the refund status within 24 hours of filing;
- For the prior year’s tax returns, you can track the refund status and use Where’s My Refund too after 3 or 4 days of filing your tax return electronically.
- Now, if the current tax return was filed through the paper form, you can track the tax refund after 4 weeks of filing the paper return.
The Where’s My Refund tool will show the status in three phrases – (a) where the IRS has accepted your tax return, (b) when the refund amount is approved by the agency, and (c ) when the agency has sent the tax refund to the taxpayer.
What should you do to avoid the EITC refund delay?
The IRS EITC tax refund can be delayed due to many reasons, so taxpayers should ensure that they follow below tips to avoid any delays:
- You should ensure the tax information filed in the tax return form is accurate so that the IRS can approve the return quickly without any issues.
- If possible go for the e-file method to file the tax returns, such through IRS direct File or Free File as the online tax returns are easy to review and save a lot of time in the processing of tax returns and refund.
- You should ensure that you choose the direct deposit payment method as it pays the refund directly to your account faster than the physical check.
- You should ensure that you enter the dependent and qualifying children’s information correctly to claim the EITC refund.
- You should file the tax return in the early tax season to avoid the rush during the tax deadline.
The EITC tax refund will be processed after 15 Feb 2025 due to the PATH Act, so the taxpayers should file their tax return accordingly to receive the refund by 27 Feb 2025 as the tax season will start from 27 Jan 2025.