Expanding State EITCs: Age Enhancements and a Credit Increase for Workers without Children in the Home

In offsetting federal income and payroll taxes and supplementing the earnings of low-wage workers across the country, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the U.S. However, the EITC provides little or no benefits to workers without children; for childless adults, aged 25 through 64, the maximum credit is small and the income limits are restrictive. The tables in this report outline the benefits of relaxing age requirements under state EITCs to include both young and older childless adults; they also identify the impact of bringing existing state EITCs for that population up to 100 percent of the federal credit to help counteract shortcomings in the federal credit’s design.