State Earned Income Tax Credits, State by State
Does my state add anything on top of the federal earned income tax credit?
If you live in one of the 29 states or DC listed below, yes. Most state credits are a straight percentage of your federal EITC: 50 percent in Colorado and Maryland, 70 percent in DC, 5 percent in Louisiana and Oklahoma. Multiply your federal credit by your state's percentage to get a first estimate. Washington state pays a flat amount instead, up to $1,330 for tax year 2025. If your state is not in the table, it has no state EITC for the tax year the IRS lists here, though the federal credit still applies in full.
The federal EITC is the largest single cash support most working families ever touch, and it arrives in the least helpful way possible: once a year, buried in a tax return, in a system that never tells you a second credit may be stacked on top of it. State credits are that second layer. They take minutes to claim, because the state borrows the IRS's math, and they range from a tank of gas to a month of groceries.
State EITC rates (as listed by the IRS)
| State | State credit | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| California | 46.5 percent CalEITC is calculated under its own formula; the IRS lists its size as about 46.5 percent of the federal credit | Yes |
| Colorado | 50 percent | Yes |
| Connecticut | 40 percent | Yes |
| Delaware | 20 percent | No |
| District of Columbia | 70 percent | Yes |
| Hawaii | 40 percent | Yes |
| Illinois | 20 percent | Yes |
| Indiana | 10 percent | Yes |
| Iowa | 15 percent | Yes |
| Kansas | 17 percent | Yes |
| Louisiana | 5 percent | Yes |
| Maine | 25 percent (50 percent if no qualifying children) | Yes |
| Maryland | 50 percent | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 40 percent | Yes |
| Michigan | 30 percent | Yes |
| Minnesota | 4 percent of earned income, up to a maximum credit of $369 | Yes |
| Montana | 10 percent | Yes |
| Nebraska | 10 percent | Yes |
| New Jersey | 40 percent | Yes |
| New Mexico | 25 percent | Yes |
| New York | 30 percent New York City adds its own credit of 10 to 30 percent of the federal credit | Yes |
| Ohio | 30 percent | No |
| Oklahoma | 5 percent | Yes |
| Oregon | 9 percent (12 percent if a qualifying child is under age 3) | Yes |
| Rhode Island | 16 percent | Yes |
| South Carolina | 125 percent | No |
| Vermont | 38 percent | Yes |
| Virginia | 15 percent Virginia also offers a nonrefundable 20 percent option; filers choose one | Yes |
| Washington | Flat payment (Working Families Tax Credit): up to $335 with no qualifying children, $660 with one child, $995 with two, $1,330 with three or more (tax year 2025) Washington has no state income tax; the credit is applied for separately with the Department of Revenue | Yes |
| Wisconsin | 4 percent with one child, 11 percent with two, 34 percent with three or more | Yes |
Rates as listed by the IRS for tax year 2025 credits, retrieved October 31, 2026. Minnesota's Working Family Credit and California's CalEITC run on their own formulas, which is why their rows read differently. Run your household through the benefits eligibility screener to see your state's credit next to the monthly benefit programs.
The arithmetic, on a real federal credit
Take the maximum federal credit for one child in tax year 2025, $4,328. In DC, at 70 percent, the state adds $3,030, refundable, so a family at the maximum would see roughly $7,358 of combined credits. In Colorado at 50 percent the state adds $2,164. In Wisconsin, where one child earns only 4 percent, the same federal credit adds $173, barely a nice dinner, which is honest information too: in low percentage states the federal credit is the prize and the state line is a bonus. South Carolina's 125 percent headline would be $5,410, the biggest figure in this paragraph, yet it is nonrefundable, so a parent whose South Carolina tax bill is $300 can use only $300 of it.
With two children at the federal maximum of $7,152, Maryland's 50 percent adds $3,576, and New York's 30 percent adds $2,146, before New York City's own extra 10 to 30 percent for city residents. Louisiana's 5 percent adds $358. Most families receive a federal credit below the maximum, so scale these down in proportion: the percentage, not the headline maximum, is what your state really offers you.
Refundable is the word that decides the value
Two credits of the same size can be worth very different amounts. A refundable credit pays out in full even when it exceeds your tax bill, which is precisely the situation of the low wage families the credit exists for. A nonrefundable credit stops at zero tax owed. Ohio (30 percent), South Carolina (125 percent), and Delaware (20 percent) chose the nonrefundable design; Virginia lets you pick between a 15 percent refundable credit and a 20 percent nonrefundable one. When you compare states, compare the refundable percentage first.
The two states that broke the mold
Washington has no income tax to hang a credit on, so it built the Working Families Tax Credit as a direct payment, applied for with the Department of Revenue: up to $335 with no children, $660 with one, $995 with two, and $1,330 with three or more, for tax year 2025. Minnesota's Working Family Credit skipped percentages altogether and pays 4 percent of earned income up to $369. Both are worth knowing because neither appears on a standard state tax return the way the percentage credits do; Washington's must be applied for on its own, and families miss it every year.
Claiming it without leaving money behind
File the federal return even when your earnings are under the filing threshold; the EITC is the main reason low income workers should file at all. Free filing through the IRS Free File program and free in-person help from VITA sites exist precisely for EITC households. Then check the state line on your state return before you submit: tax software occasionally defaults a state credit off, and on paper forms it is one more line that tired parents skip in February. A refund this size deserves a place in the plan for it, whether that is catching up the electric bill the LIHEAP page could not fully cover or seeding the emergency fund.
Frequently asked questions
Which states have an earned income tax credit?
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia offer one, listed in the table on this page. Most set the state credit as a percentage of the federal EITC, from 5 percent in Louisiana and Oklahoma up to 125 percent in South Carolina. Washington state is the exception: its Working Families Tax Credit pays a flat amount instead, up to $1,330 for tax year 2025.
What does refundable mean, and why does it matter?
A refundable credit can pay you back more than you owed in tax. If your state tax bill is $200 and your refundable credit is $900, you receive the extra $700 as a refund. A nonrefundable credit, like Ohio's, South Carolina's, and Delaware's, can only shrink your tax bill to zero. For a family with little state tax liability, a smaller refundable credit is often worth more than a bigger nonrefundable one.
Do I have to apply for the state credit separately?
Almost never. In every percentage state, claiming the federal EITC on your federal return flows into the state calculation on your state return. Washington is the big exception: because it has no income tax, you apply for the Working Families Tax Credit separately with the state Department of Revenue, and ITIN filers can qualify there and in California's CalEITC.
How much is the federal EITC itself worth?
For tax year 2025, the maximum federal credit is $649 with no qualifying children, $4,328 with one child, $7,152 with two, and $8,046 with three or more. Most families receive less than the maximum because the credit phases in and out with earnings. Your state percentage applies to whatever federal credit you actually receive.
My state has no EITC. Is there anything else at tax time?
The federal EITC and the federal Child Tax Credit still apply in every state, and several states without an EITC run their own child tax credits or renter credits. File the federal return even if your income is low enough that you are not required to: unclaimed EITC is the most common money families leave on the table.
Does the state EITC affect my SNAP or Medicaid?
Tax credits are not counted as income for SNAP or Medicaid in the month you receive them, and a federal tax refund is excluded from SNAP resources for 12 months. A once a year refund should not disturb monthly benefits, but tell your caseworker about large bank balances if your state still runs an asset test.
Keep exploring
Programs: Benefits eligibility screener · WIC income limits · LIHEAP income limits · Medicaid and CHIP income limits · State earned income tax credits · Unemployment maximums by state
Already on Mami's Budget: SNAP maximum benefits by household size · USDA grocery costs by state · Childcare costs by state · Family budget planner
Source: Internal Revenue Service, 'States and local governments with Earned Income Tax Credit' (EITC program page linking each state's revenue department), retrieved October 31, 2026, listing tax year 2025 credits; federal maximum credits for tax year 2025 as published by the IRS. Washington Working Families Tax Credit amounts: Washington State Department of Revenue, January 29, 2026. Rates and refundability are set by each state and change by legislation; your state revenue department's current page governs your return.