Table of Contents
- Step 1.
Step 1. Find Out If You Are Eligible for Advance Payments of the EIC
- Step 1. . Question 1.
- Step 1. . Question 2.
- Step 1. . Question 3.
- Step 2. Step 2. Complete Form W-5 and Give It to Your Employer
- Step 3. Step 3. How To Report Advance Payments of EIC
You can receive part of your 2008 EIC in your paycheck by completing a form and giving it to your employer.
Do you expect to be eligible for the EIC this year (2008) and to have a qualifying child? If so, you can choose to get payments of the EIC in your paycheck now instead of waiting to get your EIC all at once in 2009 when you file your tax return for the year 2008. These payments are called advance EIC payments. This chapter explains how you may be able to get them this year and how to report them on your tax return.
Answer the following three questions to see if you are eligible for advance payments of the EIC.
Note. When the question says “expect,” you do not have to know that you will be able to answer “Yes” when you file your tax return. You can only make a best guess that you will be able to answer “Yes.”
Do you expect to have a qualifying child? (See the definition of qualifying child beginning on page 12.)
Yes. |
No. |
Do you expect that your adjusted gross income (AGI) and earned income will each be less than $33,995 ($36,995 if you expect to file a joint return for 2008)?
Yes. |
No. |
Do you expect to be eligible for the EIC in 2008 as explained in chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4?
Yes. |
No. |
If you answered “Yes” to all the questions in Step 1, and you wish to get part of your EIC now, you must give your employer a Form W-5 for 2008.
After you have read the instructions and completed Form W-5, give the lower part of the form to your employer. Keep the top part for your records. A part of a blank Form W-5 is shown here.
You may get only part of your EIC during the year in advance payments. You will get the rest of the EIC you are entitled to when you file your tax return in 2009 and claim the EIC.
IF.... | THEN you must give your employer a new Form W-5.To indicate your change, check |
You no longer expect to have a qualifying child | “No” on line 1. |
You no longer expect to be eligible for the EIC | “No” on line 1. |
You no longer want advance payments | “No” on line 1. |
Your spouse files Form W-5 with his or her employer | “Yes” on line 3. |
If you received advance payments of EIC in 2007, see Reporting advance payments of EIC received in 2007 on page 3 for information on reporting these payments.
If you receive advance payments of EIC in 2008, you must file a 2008 tax return (even if you would not otherwise have to file) to report the payments and claim any additional EIC. Box 9 of your Form W-2 will show the amount you received. See the instructions for Form 1040 or Form 1040A for the line number on which you report advance payments of EIC.
If you receive advance payments of EIC in 2008, and you later find out that you are not eligible for some or all of them, you still must report them on your tax return.
You cannot use Form 1040EZ to report your advance payments. You must file Form 1040 or Form 1040A.
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