EITC certification pilot program set for 2004 filing season - IRS News; Earned Income Tax Credit - Brief Article

California CPA, Oct, 2003

The IRS will launch an early version of the Earned Income Tax Credit certification program in early 2004 to minimize erroneous claims.

The GAO recently identified the EITC program, a refundable credit for low-wage taxpayers, as a high-risk area. Previous studies by the GAO indicate that the EITC program contains errors totaling $8.5 billion to $9.9 billion--about 30 percent of the overall benefits claimed.

In response to the error rates, the certification program will ask the more than 25,000 claimants to certify that the eligible child claimed for the EITC resides with them for more than half a year.