With thousands of Illinoisans missing out on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and state Earned Tax Credit (EIC) each tax season, Governor J.B. Pritzker is reminding qualifying taxpayers to take advantage of these benefits.

"The Earned Income Tax Credit is a huge benefit and puts thousands of dollars in the pockets of low to moderate income families each year,” Pritzker said. “Even if an individual does not owe any taxes, they may still be eligible for the credit and receive critical funding that can be used for bills and necessities.”

To be eligible for EITC, taxpayers must meet certain income and residency qualifications and file a tax return, even if they do not owe any tax or are not required to file. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommends that all workers who earned around $57,414, or less learn about EITC eligibility and use the EITC Assistant to find out if they qualify.

"A family's eligibility can change year to year, so we continue to urge all working taxpayers to check their eligibility status and be sure to claim both the state and federal credits to maximize savings,” said IDOR Director David Harris.

EITC can result in up to a $6,728 refund when a taxpayer files a return and has qualifying children. Workers with no qualifying children may be eligible for a smaller credit, up to $1,502. According to the IRS, the average EITC credited for 2021 was $2,411.

Taxpayers must be eligible for federal EITC to receive state EIC. Anyone eligible for the federal EITC also automatically qualifies for the Illinois EIC, which is a refundable tax credit worth up to 18 percent of a taxpayer's federal claim. Despite that, in 2021, more than 74,800 Illinoisans claimed a federal EITC credit without also claiming the state EIC, leaving over $29.8 million unclaimed.

In recent years, the Pritzker Administration and IDOR commenced a new outreach initiative to increase state participation by targeting taxpayers who qualified for the EITC credit but failed to claim the credit on their Illinois returns.