Earned Income Tax Credit

[mdaddycpa82]

Hey all,

Probably a basic question here but for whatever reason I feel like I am struggling with confirmation on this question:

If I have a client whose only income in 2021 is unemployment compensation (no earned income in 2021) and who has generally qualified based on all other factors in the past, so are we able to use the lookback earned income from 2019 to qualify them for the credit in 2021 or does the taxpayer actually have to show earned income in 2021? So basically, showing no earned income in 2021 means the taxpayer would obviously not qualify, but despite zero earned income in 2021, can you grab the 2019 earned income to kick in the credit for 2021? Any reference that anyone has would be appreciated. I don't know why I struggling today so much on this concept, but I am!

[sjrcpa]

Yes they can use 2019 earned income if higher than 2021 earned income, even if 2021 earned income is zero.

[mdaddycpa82]

Thank you!