“Taxpayers 65 and Older Eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit”

“​Taxpayers 65 and Older Eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit,” by Dena Bunis, AARP

 

Quote:

“Millions of older Americans will be able to claim an earned income tax credit (EITC) when they file their 2021 tax returns this year and Lisa Marsh Ryerson, AARP executive vice president and president of AARP Foundation, told U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Feb. 8 that AARP will raise awareness about the benefit and continue to urge that the EITC cap be permanently lifted. … Before the changes included in the rescue plan, individuals age 65 and older were not eligible for the EITC. For the 2021 tax year, the legislation lifted that age cap and also tripled the maximum credit for workers without children to $1,502. Workers age 65 and older are projected to total 13 million by 2024 and are the fastest growing age group in the workforce, according to AARP research.”

 

LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:

Thank goodness the federal government has plenty of money to shower on older workers. Not. According to the Urban Institute: “The EITC is a work subsidy that encourages work and reduces poverty. Refundable tax credits like the federal EITC are second only to Social Security when it comes to reducing poverty. The credit creates incentives for work because the size of the benefit increases as earnings increase for workers with low incomes.” More giveaways only hasten the insolvency of the ones we already have, thus impoverishing more people over time. That’s the irony and the shame of good intentions and unintended consequences.