By Gionna Clift, 2024-2025 Get it Back Campaign Intern

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a vital support that helps reduce poverty and provide financial support for people with low and moderate incomes. The 19th annual EITC Awareness Day is an opportunity to highlight the importance of this credit and help more eligible people learn how they can claim it.

Use these talking points year-round to help spread the word about the EITC!

EITC Impact

• 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Since its enactment in 1975, the EITC has helped hundreds of millions of households pay for necessities and improved the well-being of adults and children. The EITC is an essential tax credit that should be strengthened and protected.
• In 2024, about 23 million families and individuals claimed $64 billion in EITCs. This financial support reduced economic hardship and helped people cover essential expenses like food, housing, and medication.
• Free tax filing services help people with low and moderate incomes maximize their EITC and other refundable tax credits that they qualify for. In 2021, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites generated more than $1.7 billion in refunds, and in 2024, AARP Tax-Aide sites returned $1.3 billion in refunds to tax filers.

EITC & Families

• The EITC reduces poverty for families with children in the United States. Without the EITC, the number of children living below the poverty line in 2018 would have been more than one-quarter higher.
• Children in families that claim the EITC benefit significantly. In 2023, the EITC and the Child Tax Credit lifted 3.4 million children above the poverty line. Research shows that children in families claiming these credits experience stronger health, educational, and economic outcomes.
• When eligible families claim the EITC with other tax credits, like the Child Tax Credit, they experience even greater financial benefits. Together, the EITC and Child Tax Credit lifted 10.6 million people above the poverty line in 2018. These tax credits help households care for their families and reduce financial stress.

EITC & Individuals

• In 2023, 24 million people claimed the EITC. Families claimed an average EITC of $3,338, while the average EITC for individuals without children was only $338.
• There is a significant gap in support for workers without children in their homes who claim the EITC—about 96 percent of all EITC dollars go to families with children. The maximum EITC available that a worker without a child can claim is 12 times less than the highest credit amount for families. This leaves millions of workers without children who earn low wages with little financial support.
• Expanding the EITC would help ensure that more workers don’t live in poverty and can meet the rising costs of essentials. An estimated 14 million working adults without children would benefit from an expansion.

EITC & States

• In 2024, [Number of EITC claims] residents of [state] claimed $[Total amount of EITC] in EITCs. EITC claimants strengthen local economies and neighborhoods in their communities, using the credit to buy groceries and pay bills.
• In addition to the federal EITC, 31 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have state EITCs. State child tax credits and EITCs build on the success of both federal credits by helping families afford the basics and reducing poverty, in turn helping them thrive in the long run through improved child and maternal health, and school achievement.

Call to Action

Remember to adapt these talking points based on your audience. Be sure to include a call-to-action so your audience knows what they can do. Here are some examples depending on who you want to reach:

Media

• Amplify stories of individuals and families who have benefited from the EITC.
• Highlight the impact of the EITC, eligibility, and how to claim the credit.

Elected officials

• Strengthen the EITC to support more individuals and families.
• Support efforts to make the EITC more effective and inclusive.

Funders

• Invest in campaigns that enhance the EITC and programs that help connect eligible taxpayers to the credit.
• Partner with community organizations and free tax filing programs to expand EITC access.

Community organizations and government agencies

• Join efforts to help community members use free tax help and claim tax benefits they are eligible for including the EITC.
• Inform the people you serve about the EITC and how to claim it.

Individuals

If you are communicating directly to tax filers, see our EITC and CTC toolkit for talking points. The toolkit also includes templates for a newsletter, press release, PSA, phone call and voicemail, and text messages. Additionally, there are flyers, mailers, and social media messages that are ready to use.