Refund Anticipation Loans Come With Risks, Better Business Bureau, 2/26/2013. ' . . The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has forced all major national banks to discontinue these types of loans. Be wary of sketchy lenders, both online and off. . '
1040 Instructions 2010, rules for EITC pages 45–48, optional worksheets pages 49–51, and the EITC Table itself on pages 52–68. The only required attachment is Schedule EITC if you are claiming one or more qualifying children.
Disability and Earned Income Tax Credit, page last reviewed 22-Jan-2013. "Benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance, SSI, or military disability pensions are not considered earned income and cannot be used to claim Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)."
In addition to being able to claim a married child as a dependent (or be waiving dependency to other parent), there is also the joint return test in which one's married child cannot be filing a joint return, unless it is solely to claim a refund. For example, if one's married child files a joint return in part to claim the Making Work Pay Credit, one cannot claim this child for purposes of the EIC. See page 15 [page 17 in PDF] of Pub. 596. Recall that a qualifying child can be up to and including age 18, up to and including age 23 if a full-time student for one long semester or equivalent, or any age if classified as "permanently and totally disabled" (physician states one year or more).
Form 8888 Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases) is used to request splitting a refund into up to three separate accounts. However, this form cannot be used simultaneously with Form 8379 Injured Spouse Allocation. And also, if the IRS reduces the amount of the refund, there are complicated rules regarding which of the bank accounts the remaining refund will be sent to (see the paragraphs “Past-due federal tax” and “Other offsets” on page 3). Additionally, a refund typically cannot be split with the loan and bank products offered by tax prep companies.
From Pub. 501 Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information “You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce. For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced” (part of section “Considered married” on page 5). From 1040 Instructions 2009, “You were legally separated, according to your state law, under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance” (a rule for filing as Single on page 14). And apparently, the IRS does generally defer to state law and does not provide any more guidance than this.
National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2007 Objectives Report to Congress, Volume II, The Role Of The IRS In The Refund Anticipation Loan Industry, pages 10–12, June 30, 2006. In part, this report states: “ . . It is also interesting to note that federal law prohibits banks from exercising their right to offset Social Security benefits for the recipients’ defaulted loans to that bank. It would make sense to protect EITC funds in a similar manner. . ” (page 11, last three sentences). However, in many cases, tax preparation clients are not even informed of the practice of cross-collection (see second paragraph of “Debt Collection Offset Practice,” page 10).
Tax refund offers include extra fees, KGET [California], Feb. 7, 2013. ' . . "They have to disclose all the fees so make sure you carefully read any papers that you sign, giving them rights to your refund, because that's exactly what you're doing," said Hudson [Katy Hudson, Consumer Credit Counseling Services President]. . '
Nichols, A, Rothstein, J (December 6, 2016). "The Earned Income Tax Credit"(PDF). Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1.
newspapers.com
Dilworth, Kevin (November 3, 1975). "12,000 may get break in taxes". Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York). p. 1B, 6B.
Mark Moreau, Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, New Orleans, March 23, 2005, presentation to President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, Index of /taxreformpanel/meetings, see Moreau.ppt and esp. pages 4 and 7. On page 7, Moreau bluntly states that domestic violence is the leading cause of female poverty.
Earned Income Tax Credit Parameters 1975–2010, at the Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, 27 Oct. 2009. See footnote for the increases in the travel distance, but not the credit amount, for Married Filling Jointly for the years 2002 through 2010. For example, in 2010, the plateaus for MFJ extend $5,000 further than do the corresponding plateaus for Single, Head of Household, Qualifying Widow(er). For all filing statuses, the phase
out for EIC with one child is 16% (15.98%), and the phaseout for two children and for three or more children is 21% (21.06%). Single, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) are all equally valid, equally advantageous filing statuses for the purposes of Earned Income Credit. Married filing Jointly can sometimes be more advantageous depending on the income level.
