Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Committee
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members
March 2008

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax credit for individuals who work but do not earn high incomes.  Taxpayers who qualify and claim the credit could pay less federal tax, pay no tax or even get a tax refund.  For Tax Year 2005, over 22 million taxpayers received over $40 billion in EITC. Unfortunately, the EITC also has a high erroneous payment rate.   The IRS has adopted a multi-pronged strategy aimed at reducing the EITC erroneous payment rate while maintaining or increasing participation by eligible taxpayers.
The focus of the EITC Committee is to:

• Minimize burden and enhance the quality of communications between IRS and qualified taxpayers.
• Encourage eligible taxpayers to claim the EITC by increasing outreach and making the requirements easier to understand.
• Enhance product awareness of EITC products and make recommendations on further research efforts.
• Help the IRS reach out to tax preparation professionals to spread the word about the EITC to qualified taxpayers.