Common questions about Form IT-209 New York noncustodial parent earned income credits in Lacerte

1. Go to Screen 53, Other Credits.
2. Select New York Credit Forms from the left St. Credits menu.
3. From the left Section list, choose New York Noncustodial Parent Earned Income Credit (IT-209).
4. Complete all of the applicable fields in this section.

According to the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance, the client may be able to claim this credit if, during the tax year, they met all of the following requirements:

• Didn't claim the New York State earned income credit (EIC)
• Were a full-year New York State resident
• Were at least 18 years of age
• Are a parent of a child (or children) who did not reside with them and was under 18 years old
• Have an order in effect for at least one-half of the tax year requiring them to make child support payments payable through a New York State Support Collection Unit (SCU)
• Have paid at least the court-ordered amount of child support during the tax year

Refer to the Instructions for Form IT-209 for more information.

The taxpayer can claim the greater of:

• 20% of the federal EIC that they could have claimed (based on their NY recomputed FAGI and recomputed earned income) if the noncustodial child met the qualifying child definition.
  • Compute it as if the taxpayer had one qualifying child without the benefit of the joint return phase-out amount (even if they had a married filing joint return)
• 2.5 times the federal EIC that they could have claimed (based on their NY recomputed FAGI and recomputed earned income) if they met the eligibility requirements, computed as if they had no qualifying children.
  • If the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, they can get a refund without interest.

Refer to this resource for more information.