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@david3 wrote:

I entered the W-2 wages on the EIC Worksheet in the A box below line 2a

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You entered it in the line that says "If married, and filing as Head of Household, any amount earned by your spouse ..."?

If you scroll down to J-a on the W-2 worksheet, there is a checkbox for work performed while an inmate at a penal institution.  IRS CCA 1998-049 stated that work at a halfway house is treated as working at a penal institution.

Interestingly, for many years Publication 596 specifically stated that work at a halfway house was the same as a penal institution.  However, in 2022 and 2023, that sentence was deleted.  I am unsure if there is a new ruling or why it was deleted.