State Earned Income Tax Credit increases in 2020

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The South Carolina Earned Income Tax Credit increases this year as part of a plan to raise the credit to 125% by tax year 2023.

The S.C. Department of Revenue said the state version of the EITC was adopted in 2018 and is being phased in over six years.

In tax year 2018, eligible taxpayers could claim up to 20.83% of the federal tax credit. For the 2019 tax year, eligible taxpayers can claim up to 41.67% of the federal credit. By 2021, the DOR says eligible state taxpayers will be able to claim 125% of the federal EITC.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a benefit for working people with low to moderate income. To be eligible for the credit, taxpayers must claim it on their federal income tax returns. Those who are not eligible to claim the tax credit on their federal forms cannot claim it on their state returns.

Eligible taxpayers must have been a full-year resident of the state.

The EITC is claimed while filling out a state individual income tax return online or paper form TC-60.

In the 2018 tax year, more than 59,000 South Carolina residents claimed the credit, according to a news release from the state revenue department.