Tax season 2025 is in full swing after opening on January 27 and taxpayers who have filed their returns and claimed the EITC want to know when the IRS will process their refund. To claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is directed at low- to moderate-income households, claimants had to meet the eligibility criteria and must have filled out the relevant section of their tax return correctly and honestly.
You can find the EITC payment schedule for March below, according to the official IRS website.
Are you waiting for your Earned Income Tax Credit refund?
Individuals or households that fall into the lower income brackets can claim the EITC from the Internal Revenue Service. If you are eligible, the credit will either offset your taxes due or be paid out as a refund if you have no taxes outstanding. The deadline to submit returns is April 15, and the sooner you submit, the sooner your refund will be disbursed.
There’s a specific section on the income tax return for filers to complete to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, and it’s important that this is done correctly and honestly to avoid any complications that may flag your return for internal IRS assessment.
Who has already received their EITC refunds?
Although the law prevents the IRS from processing EITC refunds before the middle of February, this date has passed and payments are free to be allocated according to the IRS’s schedule.
Many early filers already received their EITC refund on March 3. These are the taxpayers who filed their returns online and selected direct deposit as their preferred payment method over paper check in the post. These filers would also have had no complications with their returns that needed adjusting.
What is the EITC tax refund schedule for March according to the IRS?
The Internal Revenue Service has released the EITC payment schedule for the month of March so that taxpayers can plan accordingly. To be eligible for the EITC, taxpayers must have completed either Form 1040 (the US Individual Income Tax Return) or Form 1040-SR (the US Tax Return for Seniors).
After this has been done and the process has been done correctly, your payment should arrive in 21 days. However, if you need to know more definitively, you can check the status of your tax return via the IRS’s official online channels.
Here are the EITC payment dates for March, with the first date being the day the tax return was filed and the second the expected date of the bank deposit:
- February 16: March 9
- February 17: March 10
- February 18: March 11
- February 19: March 12
- February 20: March 13
- February 21: March 14
- February 22: March 15
It’s important to note that the dates above will be correct as long as there are no complications with your tax return. Also, for those people who have opted to receive their funds via a paper check in the post, the payment will take as long as the postal service does.
For those people who were eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit but failed to do so for whatever reason, all is not lost. These taxpayers can file an amended return using Form 1040-X and this time, complete the EITC section correctly.
How much is the EITC for tax year 2024?
These are the amounts that beneficiaries will be paid out under the EITC in 2025:
For income tax returns filed under Married Filing Jointly:
- 0 children: Phase-in amount – $17,730, phase-out amount – $26,214, earned income amount – $8,490, maximum credit – $649.
- 1 child: Phase-in amount – $30,470, phase-out amount – $57,554, earned income amount – $12,730, maximum credit – $4,328.
- 2 children: Phase-in amount – $30,470, phase-out amount – $64,430, earned income amount – $17,880, maximum credit – $7,152.
- 3 or more children: Phase-in amount – $30,470, phase-out amount – $68,675, earned income amount – $17,880, maximum credit – $8,046.
For all other income tax returns:
- 0 children: Phase-in amount – $10,620, phase-out amount – $19,104, earned income amount – $8,490, maximum credit – $649.
- 1 child: Phase-in amount – $23,350, phase-out amount – $50,434, earned income amount – $12,730, maximum credit – $4,328.
- 2 children: Phase-in amount – $23,350, phase-out amount – $57,310, earned income amount – $17,880, maximum credit – $7,152.
- 3 or more children: Phase-in amount – $23,350, phase-out amount – $61,555, earned income amount – $17,880, maximum credit – $8,046.
Tax filers have resources at their disposal if they need help filing their returns, such as the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the IRS website. You can also find information on the Child Tax Credit, such as the eligibility criteria.