The Top 10 Reasons Why We Love the EITC

In honor of EITC Awareness Day, we’re sharing the top ten reasons why we love the Earned Income Tax Credit:

  1. The EITC rewards work. The credit helps more than 26 million working Americans keep more of what they’ve earned.
  2. The EITC fights poverty. It lifts more than six million people, including more than three million children, out of poverty each year.
  3. The EITC helps service members make ends meet. Millions of military families and veterans benefit from the credit.
  4. The EITC is temporary support for working Americans who have fallen on hard times. Most EITC filers claim the credit for only one to two years at a time.
  5. The EITC improves health outcomes, particularly for expectant mothers and infants.
  6. The EITC improves educational outcomes. Children in low-income families that benefit from state or federal EITC expansions perform better in school and are more likely to attend college.
  7. The EITC has long-term benefits for working women with children.
  8. The EITC boosts workforce participation rates. Not only does the EITC reward work, it also encourages it.
  9. The EITC enjoys bipartisan support. At the state and federal level, both Republicans and Democrats back the EITC as one of the best ways to reduce poverty and encourage work.
  10. The EITC can even help to increase life expectancy. Research shows that low-income individuals living in states that offer EITCs on top of the federal credit live longer than those in states that do not.