Number: RL31768
Title: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): An Overview
Authors: Christine Scott, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC or EIC) began in 1975 as a temporary program to return a portion of the Social Security tax paid by lower income taxpayers, and was made permanent in 1978. In the 1990s, the program became a major component of federal efforts to reduce poverty, and is now the largest antipoverty entitlement program. Childless adults in 2005 (the latest year for which data are available) received an average EITC of $230, families with one child received an average EITC of $1,809, and families with two or more children received an average EITC of $2,833.
Pages: 27
Date: January 3, 2008