At tax time, residents of the District of Columbia have a lot of different tax rules to remember. Fortunately, working families have the advantage of claiming D.C.’s earned income tax credit (EITC), which is modeled after the federal guidelines and eligibility rules. That means if a resident was eligible to claim the federal credit, then likely they qualify for D.C.’s version of the EITC.

Washington, D.C. has recently expanded the EITC to include taxpayers who work but don’t have dependent children, and the credit will phase following federal guidelines. The maximum credit will reach 150 percent of the poverty line, and will fully phase out at double the poverty line.

D.C.’s EITC is offered at 40% of the federal credit, and is fully refundable. The expanded credits offered at 100% of the federal credit to adults without children and incomes up to twice the poverty line per person. By offering taxpayers the ability to receive leftover funds after their tax liability is completely offset, the refundable EITC helps keep poverty levels low by putting more money back into the hands of those who need it most. This means that a low income family with no tax liability can receive the entire EITC as a refund, and can help make up for other significant taxes, such as local, that residents of D.C. have to pay. The EITC is a great incentive to help keep families working and reduce the poverty levels of different areas, such as D.C.