Earned Income Tax Credit available for Noncustodial Parent

Earned income tax credits can add up to $8,427 for a family with three children. As many as 430,000 eligible New Yorkers may be missing out on this benefit. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) remind New York taxpayers to check their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC can reduce the amount of taxes owed or provide a substantial tax refund. However, based on IRS estimates, each year more than 430,000 eligible New Yorkers—including nearly 250,000 in New York City alone—may fail to claim the credit. (See chart below for county-by-county estimates.) EITCs are refundable federal, New York State, and New York City credits for working taxpayers earning up to the $53,267 maximum. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they don’t owe any tax or aren’t required to file. In tax year 2013, the latest year for which federal data is available, more than 1.75 million New Yorkers received the federal EITC. When the federal, New York State and New York City benefits were combined, the benefit to working families and individuals was more than $5 billion. The average benefit was more than $3,000 per household. Are you eligible? Every year, thousands of New Yorkers qualify for the EITC for the first time as their filing status or personal financial situation changes. The income limit varies based on number of children. The maximum for the 2015 tax year is $53,267 for a family with three children. To qualify for the credit, in addition to meeting the income qualifications, taxpayers must: earn wages from employment or self-employment, have a valid Social Security number, have a qualifying child living with them for more than half the year, or, if they don’t have a qualifying child, be at least 25 years of age and under age 65, and have investment income of less than $3,350. The Tax Department also reminded those ineligible for EITC benefits to look for other possible tax credits that they might be eligible to claim, such as the child and dependent care credit. How much is the credit worth? The maximum credits increase annually and vary based on factors including family income and number of children. For tax year 2015, the maximum of the combined federal, state and New York City credits is $8,427 (for a family with three children) – a $134 increase over tax year 2014. Taxpayers who were eligible in previous years but didn’t claim the credit may still be able to submit an amended income tax return for up to three years. Noncustodial Parent Earned Income Tax Credit New York was the first state in the nation to enact a Noncustodial Parent EITC in 2006. The refundable credit adds to the many ways that New York encourages low-income noncustodial parents to work and stay current with their child-support payments. In 2013, almost more than 7,200 taxpayers claimed the Noncustodial Parent EITC for a total of $3.6 million. For more information Federal Earned Income Tax Credit New York State Earned Income Tax Credit Recordkeeping suggestions for self-employed persons Contact a NYS Tax Department representative at (518) 457-5181 County Number of taxpayers receiving EITC benefits Total federal/NYS/NYC combined benefit Estimated average combined benefit Number of eligible taxpayers not receiving EITC* Albany 21,302 $56,738,765 $2,714 5,326 Allegany 3,726 $10,414,078 $2,822 932 Bronx 233,941 $791,378,769 $3,520 58,485 Broome 15,763 $44,133,954 $2,820 3,941 Cattaraugus 6,984 $19,832,797 $2,883 1,746 Cayuga 6,218 $17,113,370 $2,793 1,555 Chautauqua 11,639 $33,636,235 $2,926 2,910 Chemung 7,637 $21,731,903 $2,891 1,909 Chenango 4,189 $11,687,450 $2,815 1,047 Clinton 5,937 $15,172,495 $2,588 1,484 Columbia 4,374 $11,184,677 $2,596 1,094 Cortland 3,706 $10,269,767 $2,796 927 Delaware 3,652 $9,886,458 $2,743 913 Dutchess 15,641 $40,718,377 $2,648 3,910 Erie 68,646 $192,883,034 $2,855 17,162 Essex 2,804 $7,195,203 $2,604 701 Franklin 4,099 $11,681,752 $2,880 1,025 Fulton 5,163 $14,682,168 $2,892 1,291 Genesee 4,223 $11,082,103 $2,658 1,056 Greene 3,347 $8,673,403 $2,625 837 Hamilton 357 $872,739 $2,460 89 Herkimer 5,300 $14,878,159 $2,860 1,325 Jefferson 12,175 $35,120,010 $3,089 3,044 Kings 324,181 $1,036,499,345 $3,263 81,045 Lewis 2,319 $6,385,994 $2,838 580 Livingston 4,082 $10,629,675 $2,634 1,021 Madison 5,091 $14,075,064 $2,814 1,273 Monroe 58,701 $168,864,277 $2,925 14,675 Montgomery 4,635 $13,523,354 $2,915 1,159 Nassau 71,941 $195,191,731 $2,764 17,985 New York 130,124 $358,767,534 $2,788 32,531 Niagara 16,675 $44,385,353 $2,704 4,169 Oneida 19,618 $58,793,273 $3,036 4,905 Onondaga 36,993 $106,647,646 $2,932 9,248 Ontario 7,362 $19,381,337 $2,676 1,841 Orange 25,296 $79,511,944 $3,185 6,324 Orleans 3,275 $9,336,962 $2,881 819 Oswego 10,186 $28,113,561 $2,792 2,547 Otsego 4,271 $11,205,068 $2,650 1,068 Putnam 3,545 $7,735,693 $2,209 886 Queens 269,682 $764,520,273 $2,904 67,421 Rensselaer 11,075 $30,204,463 $2,773 2,769 Richmond 32,243 $94,553,195 $3,010 8,061 Rockland 20,343 $71,867,000 $3,587 5,086 St. Lawrence 8,508 $24,346,403 $2,901 2,127 Saratoga 11,553 $28,392,034 $2,492 2,888 Schenectady 12,088 $35,238,965 $2,922 3,022 Schoharie 2,294 $5,938,100 $2,623 574 Schuyler 1,490 $3,849,660 $2,642 373 Seneca 2,656 $7,136,495 $2,729 664 Steuben 8,155 $22,497,609 $2,795 2,039 Suffolk 90,487 $248,236,530 $2,805 22,622 Sullivan 6,323 $18,749,985 $3,003 1,581 Tioga 4,046 $11,165,587 $2,815 1,012 Tompkins 5,413 $12,948,624 $2,436 1,353 Ulster 12,323 $31,158,644 $2,564 3,081 Warren 5,306 $13,454,809 $2,575 1,327 Washington 5,086 $13,815,043 $2,761 1,272 Wayne 7,206 $19,889,315 $2,791 1,802 Westchester 55,153 $155,315,814 $2,886 13,788 Wyoming 2,672 $7,012,353 $2,657 668 Yates 1,776 $4,801,581 $2,720 444 Statewide 1,754,996 $5,185,107,959 $3,068 438,749 *based on IRS estimates