Estimate your federal Earned Income Tax Credit and Michigan's 30% refundable match for 2026. See how earned income, AGI and qualifying children affect your credit, with named eligibility checks.
Last updated: November 6, 2026
| Maximum federal EITC (with qualifying children): | $4,427 (1 child) / $7,316 (2) / $8,231 (3+) |
|---|---|
| Maximum federal EITC (no children): | $664 |
| Phase-out begins (with qualifying children): | $23,890 (all other statuses) / $31,160 (MFJ) |
| Phase-out begins (no children): | $10,860 (all other statuses) / $18,140 (MFJ) |
Context only — IRC §32(b) TY2026 amounts per Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Never enters the math.
FORM MI-EITC-2026 · REFUNDABLE CREDIT REPORT
| Federal EITC | $3,400.00 |
|---|---|
| Michigan match rate | 30% |
The federal estimate takes the smaller of the earned-income lookup and the greater-of-earned-income-or-AGI lookup.
Fully refundable — paid on top of your federal credit on the Michigan return (Form MI-1040).
Full-year Michigan resident illustration. Federal return tables use whole dollars; this estimate computes exact cents.
Michigan's refundable Earned Income Tax Credit equals 30% of your federal EITC under MCL 206.272. Public Act 4 of 2023 increased the match from 6% to 30%, retroactive to tax year 2022. Michigan has no separate earnings requirement and no minimum credit: the match follows your federal credit. This estimate is for a full-year Michigan resident.
IRC §32(a) sets two independent caps. The credit based on earned income cannot exceed the table earned-income credit less the phase-out based on the greater of earned income or AGI. This is the IRS Publication 596 two-lookup method: take the smaller of the two amounts. A higher AGI can reduce your credit even when earnings are in the phase-in range.
The federal IRC §32(c) tests generally require a child under 19, a full-time student under 24, or a person permanently and totally disabled at any age. Relationship, residency, age relative to the taxpayer, joint-return and other federal requirements also apply. The schedule uses three children for any count of three or more.
You may qualify without children if you meet the other federal EITC rules. You, or your spouse on a joint return, must be age 25 through 64 at year-end. You cannot be another taxpayer's qualifying child or be claimable as a dependent. Qualifying surviving spouse status does not waive the age requirement. Investment income over $12,200 is ineligible for 2026.
Under IRC §32(d)(2), an otherwise eligible MFS filer must have a qualifying child who lived with them for more than half the year and either live apart from their spouse throughout the last six months, or have a qualifying written separation agreement and not be members of the same household at year-end. The exception never applies with zero qualifying children. Eligible MFS filers use the other-status schedule, not the MFJ column.
The federal return uses whole-dollar EITC tables with income bands. This tool computes exact cents from the 2026 schedule and rounds at the reference model's calculation steps. Published maximum amounts are rounded dollars; the computed one-child and three-child plateaus here are $4,426.80 and $8,230.50.
Keep federal Schedule EIC when you have qualifying children, Michigan Form MI-1040 with the EITC line, income and investment records, valid Social Security numbers, and records supporting the qualifying-child tests or separated-spouse exception. Self-employment half-SE-tax adjustments and prior-year lookback rules are not modeled. Use the applicable return instructions for part-year or nonresident situations.
Federal schedule. This TY2026 illustration uses IRC §32(a) and §32(b) and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.06. For one, two and three or more children, phase-in rates are 34%, 40% and 45%, applied up to earned-income amounts of $13,020, $18,290 and $18,290. Published maxima are $4,427, $7,316 and $8,231. With no children the rate is 7.65%, earned-income amount $8,680 and published maximum $664. Computed plateaus are $4,426.80 / $7,316.00 / $8,230.50 / $664.00. The schedule is indexed for TY2026.
Two independent caps. Under §32(a)(2), the credit “shall not exceed the excess of—(A) the credit percentage of the earned income amount, over (B) the phaseout percentage…” This is the table earned-income amount, distinct from your actual earned income. We compute the credit once on earned income and once on the greater of earned income or AGI, and take the smaller amount, matching IRS Publication 596's two-lookup “smaller of” method. Each lookup caps phase-in at the table earned-income amount, rounds phase-in and phase-out to cents, subtracts the reduction, and clamps at zero. At or above the published completed phase-out amount, the credit is zero.
Phase-out. With children, the threshold is $31,160 for MFJ and $23,890 for other statuses. The rate is 15.98% with one child and 21.06% with two or more. Completed phase-out amounts for one / two / three or more children are $58,863 / $65,899 / $70,244 for MFJ and $51,593 / $58,629 / $62,974 for other statuses. Without children, the threshold is $18,140 for MFJ or $10,860 for other statuses, the rate is 7.65%, and completed phase-out is $26,820 / $19,540. Only MFJ uses the joint column. State labels prioritize zero credit, then phase-out above the threshold, then phase-in based on earned income below the table earned-income amount, then maximum credit.
Eligibility. Gates apply in order: investment income over $12,200 (§32(i)); being another taxpayer's qualifying child (§32(c)(1)(B)); MFS without a valid separated-spouse exception or with zero qualifying children (§32(d)(2)); no qualifying children and claimable as a dependent (§32(c)(1)(A)(ii)(III)); then the childless age requirement of 25–64 for you or your spouse on a joint return. QSS has no age exemption. The written-agreement route also requires separate households at year-end. Qualifying children must meet the federal §32(c) rules, including under 19, student under 24, or permanently and totally disabled at any age.
Michigan match and scope. MCL 206.272 and Public Act 4 of 2023 set the refundable Michigan match at 30% of federal EITC (increased from 6%, retroactive to 2022). Michigan credit = federal credit × 30%, rounded to cents. Michigan has no separate earnings requirement and no minimum credit. This tool assumes full-year Michigan residency and otherwise applicable federal EITC requirements, including valid SSNs. It does not model self-employment half-SE-tax adjustments, prior-year lookback, or part-year/nonresident allocation. The federal return uses whole-dollar EITC tables; this tool computes exact cents.
Protected inputs. Complete comma groups are accepted. Invalid or empty drafts stay visible with an error while the last valid full value is used. Input cents round half-up; negatives become $0 and money is capped at $10,000,000. The model preserves the v1.2 reference engine's cent rounding. Reset clears invalid drafts and restores the example; a copied link includes the current valid inputs.
Sources: IRC §§32(a), 32(b), 32(c), 32(d)(2) and 32(i); Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §.06; IRS Publication 596; MCL 206.272; Michigan Public Act 4 of 2023; Michigan Treasury, Earned Income Tax Credit. Accessed November 6, 2026.Last updated: November 6, 2026 · 2026 Michigan earned income tax credit illustration