Why is earned income credit showing up on my taxes when I only work gig jobs?
I'm a full-time student (23) and only work Uber Eats and Instacart as my income source. This year I made about $5.2k total. I'm using FreeTaxUSA to file my 2022 taxes, and after entering all my 1099 information, it's showing I'm getting an earned income credit of $487. What is this exactly? In past years I've always ended up owing some tax money from these gig jobs, so I'm confused why I'm suddenly getting this credit. I'm filing as single, no dependents, no other income sources. Is this normal or did I mess something up in my filing?
19 comments
Join the conversation
Sophie Footman
Good news, you're not doing anything wrong! The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit designed specifically to benefit working people with low to moderate income. Even though you're doing gig work through Uber Eats and Instacart, that still counts as "earned income" for tax purposes. For 2022, individuals without children who are at least 19 years old (or students at least 19 and under 24) with income below around $16,480 can qualify for the EITC. Since you earned about $5.2k, you fall well within the income limits. The credit amount varies based on your income level, filing status, and number of dependents.
0 coins
Connor Rupert
•Wait, I thought you had to have W-2 income to get the earned income credit? I've been doing DoorDash for 2 years and never got this. Do you have to specifically request it or something?
0 coins
Sophie Footman
•You don't need W-2 income specifically to qualify for the EITC. Self-employment income from gig work like DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Instacart counts as earned income for EITC purposes. The key is that you must have earned income from working, as opposed to only having unearned income like investments or unemployment benefits. You don't have to specifically request the EITC. Tax software should calculate it automatically if you qualify, but you do need to report all your income properly, including your self-employment income on Schedule C. If you didn't receive it in past years, it's possible your income was either too high or too low to qualify, or perhaps there was another eligibility factor that changed.
0 coins
Molly Hansen
I was in almost the exact same situation last year - full-time student doing gig work with UberEats and making under $6k. Tax time was super stressful trying to figure out all the self-employment stuff. I kept getting confused about deductions vs credits and whether I qualified for anything. I tried https://taxr.ai after my roommate recommended it, and it was honestly a huge help. You just upload your 1099 forms and other tax docs, and it analyzes everything including eligibility for credits like the EITC. It explained exactly why I qualified for the earned income credit and even identified some deductions I was missing for my vehicle expenses. Way less stressful than trying to figure it all out myself.
0 coins
Brady Clean
•How does that work with the mileage tracking though? I never know if I should claim actual expenses or the standard mileage rate for my DoorDash work.
0 coins
Skylar Neal
•Sounds kinda sus tbh. How much did you pay for this service? Most free tax software already calculates EIC automatically...
0 coins
Molly Hansen
•It works great with mileage tracking! You can upload your mileage logs or reports from apps like Stride, and it helps determine whether the standard mileage rate or actual expenses would be better for your situation. For most gig drivers, the standard mileage deduction usually works out better, but it depends on your specific situation. I was skeptical at first too, but it was actually worth it for me. The basic analysis helped me understand why I qualified for the EIC and other credits, plus it found additional deductions I was missing. I ended up getting back almost $700 more than I expected. The interface is super straightforward compared to the typical tax software experience.
0 coins
Skylar Neal
Okay I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai being sus. I tried it after my last comment because I was curious, and it actually helped me figure out why I wasn't getting the earned income credit in previous years despite doing gig work. Turns out I was reporting some expenses incorrectly which was lowering my earned income too much. After fixing that and refiling, I got an additional $412 on my refund. The document analysis actually pointed out stuff that TurboTax completely missed.
0 coins
Vincent Bimbach
If you're getting the earned income credit but still have questions about your tax situation with gig work, you might want to talk directly with the IRS to make sure everything is filed correctly. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS last year about a similar situation (was getting EIC but wasn't sure if I was reporting my expenses correctly). After countless busy signals and disconnections, I found https://claimyr.com and used their service to get through. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in line with the IRS and call you when an agent is about to answer. I got to speak with an actual IRS agent who confirmed I was eligible for the earned income credit with my gig work and explained exactly how to report everything correctly.
0 coins
Daniel Rivera
•Does this actually work? I tried calling the IRS last month and gave up after being on hold for over an hour before getting disconnected. How long did it take you to get through?
0 coins
Kelsey Chin
•Sounds like a scam. Why would I pay someone to call the IRS for me when I can just keep trying for free? And how do they even get you through faster than anyone else?
0 coins
Vincent Bimbach
•Yes, it actually does work! I was connected with an IRS agent within about 40 minutes of using the service. They don't get you through any faster than normal - they just handle the waiting for you. The system holds your place in line and calls you right before an agent picks up, so you don't have to waste hours listening to hold music or risk getting disconnected after a long wait. They don't call the IRS for you - you're the one who talks directly with the IRS agent. The service just manages the waiting process so you don't have to stay on the phone yourself. I was skeptical at first too, but when you consider the value of your time (especially during busy tax season), it made sense for me since I had specific questions about the earned income credit with my gig work.
0 coins
Kelsey Chin
I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After filing my taxes last week and seeing I qualified for earned income credit for the first time, I had some specific questions about how my gig work deductions affected the credit amount. Decided to try Claimyr instead of wasting another day on hold, and I'm shocked that it actually worked exactly as advertised. Got a call back when an agent was ready, and got all my questions answered in one shot. The agent confirmed that my gig work does qualify me for EITC and explained exactly how the income thresholds work. Saved me hours of frustration for sure.
0 coins
Norah Quay
Friendly reminder for all gig workers: pay your quarterly estimated taxes! I made the mistake of not doing this my first year of food delivery work and got hit with an underpayment penalty, even though the earned income credit helped offset some of it. The IRS expects you to pay as you earn through the year.
0 coins
Daniel Rivera
•How do you calculate what to pay quarterly? I never know how much I'll make month to month with these apps.
0 coins
Norah Quay
•You have a couple of options for figuring out your quarterly payments. The safest approach is to use the "100% of last year's tax" method - if you pay 100% of what you owed last year (divided into four payments), you'll avoid penalties even if you end up owing more. If your income fluctuates a lot, you can also use the "annualized income" method where you calculate based on what you've actually earned each quarter. Most tax software has a quarterly tax calculator that can help with this. Just remember the due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 (of the following year).
0 coins
Leo McDonald
Has anyone else had their earned income credit amount change when they amended their tax return? I originally filed with just my W-2 income but then realized I needed to add my DoorDash earnings from last year, and it actually increased my EIC.
0 coins
Jessica Nolan
•Yes! This happened to me last year. I forgot to include some cash tips I got, and when I amended my return to add that income, my EIC went up slightly. There's a "sweet spot" for the earned income credit where having a bit more income can actually increase your credit amount up to a certain point.
0 coins
Lily Young
Just wanted to add that you should definitely keep good records of all your gig work expenses throughout the year! Things like phone bills (portion used for work), insulated bags for food delivery, and of course your mileage can all be deducted. Since you're getting the earned income credit, you want to make sure you're not missing out on legitimate deductions that could save you even more money. I use a simple spreadsheet to track everything monthly - makes tax time so much easier. Also, don't forget that as a student, you might qualify for education credits too if you paid tuition or had other qualifying education expenses!
0 coins