2025 IRS Refund for EITC – Earned Income Tax Credit Payout Date!

The 2025 tax season is approaching, and taxpayers who claim or qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) should know about the tax refund obligations and schedule. 

2025 IRS Refund for EITC

The federal government offers a tax break to lower or moderate-income earners and families through EITC. People living in the US with US citizenship who earn under the income threshold and have investment income below the threshold can claim EITC and get financial support from the federal government. 

The credit allows taxpayers to reduce their tax bills and increase their tax refund, the amount of EITC credits may change when you are disabled or have dependent children, and meet other criteria. Taxpayers claim EITC with their federal income tax returns, so receive the credit with their tax refund, however, with EITC claims, your tax refund gets delayed till 15 February.

The tax refund with EITC claims gets restricted till 15 Feb due to the PATH Act obligation that restricts the agency from processing the refund till the limited time. Hence, the IRS processes the tax refund for EITC after 15 Feb even if you have filed your federal tax returns early. 

2025 IRS Refund for EITC Schedule 

As per the IRS rules, the tax refunds with EITC/ACTC claims will be processed after 15 February, so the taxpayers can expect the refund on 27 February 2025 when they have filed their return online, choose to get their refund via Direct deposit, and the IRS has not found any issue in your return. 

So, based on the PATH Act restrictions, the EITC claimants can expect their tax refund on the following schedule 

How much EITC refund will you receive for the 2024 tax year?

The EITC payout depends on the number of qualifying children who meet the income threshold for the EITC. Taxpayers can check the EITC refund maximum amount based on the number of qualifying children below:

How to track the 2025 IRS Refund for EITC? 

The IRS offers a convenient way for taxpayers to track their tax refund to know the status of the tax refund to stay aware of every stage. The agency has the IRS tool Where’s My Refund available on the official website and the IRS mobile app (IRS2Go app) both for taxpayers to check their refund status. 

The tax refund status is defined in three stages – (i) Return Received, (ii) Refund Approved, and (iii) Refund Sent.

The first stage lets you know that your IRS federal return has been received by the agency, the second stage tells you the IRS approved your refund amount, and the third stage tells you the IRS has processed your refund through the selected payment method, so you can expect the refund shortly based on the method you have selected to receive the refund. 

The IRS advises using the Where’s My Refund tool to track the refund status rather than calling the agency as during the tax season, the line can be busy and the Where’s My Refund tool shows the same status recorded in the IRS system, so you will get the exact information.

As per IRS guidelines, taxpayers should track the tax refund status after the following period:

• 24 hours after you file the federal income tax return via e-file
• When you have filed a tax return for the previous year, you can track the refund status after 3 or 4 business days after e-filing the return.
• If you have filed the income tax return via paper check, you should wait for 4 weeks to track the refund status as it may take time to reach the agency and review the return.

What documents or info would you require to track your EITC refund status?

Taxpayers should know when they wish to track their tax refund status either via the Where’s My Refund tool or by calling the agency, they would need the following information or documents in hand to know about their refund:

• You should know your tax refund amount you have filed in the tax return
• The tax year for which you have filed the federal income tax return
• Your Social Security Number or your spouse’s SSN if you have filed jointly
• Your filing status, such as married and filed jointly, head of household, single, etc. 

The taxpayers should know the tax refund with EITC claims will only be processed after the15 Feb 2025, so you can expect the payment on 27 Feb 2025 or onwards based on the payment method you selected and the tax return filing date. So, track the status accordingly and if you find any issue in your status like it’s the same for more than 15 days, you can contact the IRS and inquire about it.