How to Claim the EITC in California (and the CalEITC on Top)

Two credits are sitting here for you, not one. There's the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, and because you live in California, there's a state version on top of it called CalEITC, the California Earned Income Tax Credit. You can claim both with one tax season's worth of paperwork, and you can get free help doing it. Let's walk through each piece.

Claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit

You claim the federal credit by filing your federal tax return. There's no separate form to mail in, no application to fill out, no line to wait in. The credit attaches itself to the return you file.

Here's what that looks like in practice. You file Form 1040, the standard tax return most people use. If you have qualifying children, you also fill out a one-page form called Schedule EIC and attach it to your 1040. The IRS does the math from there. Once you file, the credit is yours.

One point trips people up, so read this twice. You have to file even if you don't owe any taxes, and even if nobody requires you to file. A lot of people skip filing because their income is low enough that the IRS doesn't make them. If you do that, you leave the money sitting on the table. No return, no credit. The only way to get this money is to file for it.

The credit can be real money. For tax year 2025, the federal EITC is worth up to $8,046, depending on your income and how many children you have. The more qualifying children, the larger it climbs, up to that ceiling.

One thing to expect so it doesn't worry you: your refund will take a little longer than usual. By law, the IRS can't send these refunds before mid-February. It's not a problem with your return. It's a fraud-prevention rule that holds every one of these refunds the same amount of time. File early anyway. Your spot in line is set the day you file, not the day they pay.

Claiming CalEITC, the California state credit

California runs its own Earned Income Tax Credit, and it stacks on top of the federal one. So the federal credit doesn't replace the state credit. You can get both.

You claim CalEITC by filling out Form FTB 3514 and attaching it to your California state tax return. Same idea as the federal side: it's a form that goes along with a return you're already filing, not a separate application.

For tax year 2025, CalEITC is worth up to $3,756 for qualifying Californians earning $32,901 or less. That's money added straight to your refund, or money knocked off what you owe the state.

If you have a child under 6, look at one more credit while you're here. It's the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), and for tax year 2025 it's worth up to $1,189 on top of CalEITC. You claim it on the same FTB 3514 form. If you qualify for CalEITC and you've got a little one under 6 at the end of the year, this one's likely yours too.

Now the tip that's worth real money to a lot of people. You can claim CalEITC for up to four prior years. If you qualified in past years and never claimed it, California lets you go back and collect. You do it by filing a return for that year, or by amending one you already filed. So if money was tight in 2022 and you didn't know this credit existed, that refund may still be reachable. Four years back is a lot of room.

Here's a real version of how that adds up. Say you're raising two kids and you earned $24,000 last year. You file your federal return and claim the federal credit. You file your California return, attach Form FTB 3514, and claim CalEITC. Two separate credits, two separate refunds, from one tax season. Then you remember you qualified in 2023 and never filed. You go back, file that year, and a third refund comes through. None of that requires a special program. It just requires filing.

Use Turnout's free benefits scan to see if you qualify.