Paid Preparer's Earned Income Credit Checklist (Form 8867)

2013

Instructions for Form 8867

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Paid Preparer's Earned Income Credit Checklist

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form
8867 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they
were published, go to www.irs.gov/form8867.

General Instructions
Only paid preparers have to complete this form. The form must
be submitted with the tax return of any taxpayer claiming the
earned income credit (EIC) if a preparer was paid to complete
the return. If you are a signing tax return preparer electronically
filing the return, file the form electronically with the return. If you
are a signing tax return preparer not electronically filing the
return, give the taxpayer the completed form for filing. If you are
a nonsigning tax return preparer, give the signing tax return
preparer the completed form in electronic or non-electronic
format.

Purpose of Form

Paid preparers of federal income tax returns or claims for refund
involving the EIC must meet due diligence requirements in
determining the taxpayer's eligibility for, and the amount of, the
EIC. Failure to do so could result in a $500 penalty for each
failure. See Internal Revenue Code section 6695(g) and Part IV
of this form.

Specific Instructions
Enter the name and preparer tax identification number (PTIN) of
the preparer who determined the taxpayer's eligibility for, or the
amount of, the EIC, even if that preparer is not the signing
preparer.

Line 2

If the taxpayer was married at the end of the year, he or she
usually must file a joint return to take the EIC. However, if the
taxpayer and his or her spouse did not live together for the last 6
months of the year, the taxpayer may be eligible to use head of
household filing status. See Pub. 501 for details.

Line 3

For purposes of taking the EIC, a social security number (SSN)
issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) is not valid if
“Not Valid for Employment” is printed on the social security card
and the number was issued solely to allow the recipient of the
SSN to apply for or receive a federally funded benefit. If the
social security card specifies "Valid for Work Only With DHS
Authorization," the taxpayer can take the EIC as long as the DHS
(Department of Homeland Security) authorization is still valid.
Any other SSN issued by the SSA is valid for EIC purposes. You
may find it useful to look at the social security card.
Enter only the child’s first name unless more than one child has
the same first name. In that case, enter other identifying
information to distinguish between the two children.

Aug 23, 2013

An adopted child is treated as the taxpayer's child by blood. An
adopted child is a legally adopted child of the taxpayer, or an
individual who is lawfully placed with the taxpayer for legal
adoption by the taxpayer.
A descendant usually refers to a grandchild or
great-grandchild of the taxpayer, or to a child, grandchild, or
great-grandchild of the taxpayer’s brother, sister, stepbrother,
stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
A foster child is a child placed with the taxpayer by an
authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree, or other
order of any court of competent jurisdiction. See Pub. 596 for
details.

Line 10

Check “Yes” if the child was not married at the end of 2013.

In general, check “No” if the child was married at the end of
2013. However, check “Yes” if a married child is not filing a 2013
joint return (or is filing it only to claim a refund of income tax
withheld or estimated tax paid), and either:
You can claim the child as your dependent, or
The reason you cannot claim the child as your dependent is
that you let the child's other parent claim him or her as a
dependent under the special rules for children of divorced or
separated parents.
For details and examples, see Joint Return Test in Rule 8 in
Pub. 596.

Line 1

Line 8

Line 9

Line 11

Even if the child did not live with the taxpayer for the required
time, check “Yes” if the child was born or died during 2013 and
the taxpayer's home was the child's home for more than half the
time the child was alive in 2013. Also check “Yes” if the child
lived with the taxpayer for over half of the year in one or more
homeless shelters in the United States.
Temporary absences may count as time lived at home.
Military personnel on extended active duty outside the United
States are considered to be living in the United States during
that duty period.
A kidnapped child may be treated as living with the taxpayer
for over half the year if the child lived with the taxpayer for over
half the part of the year before the kidnapping. For details, see
Pub. 596.

Line 12

If you checked “No” on line 9, 10, 11, or 12, but there is more
than one child, complete lines 8 through 14 for the other
child(ren) (but for no more than three qualifying children). If the
taxpayer does not have a qualifying child, go to Part III to see if
the taxpayer can take the EIC for taxpayers who do not have a
qualifying child.

Line 13a

Check “No” if the taxpayer is filing a joint return and the only
other person who could check “Yes” on lines 9, 10, 11, and 12
for the child is the taxpayer's spouse.

Cat. No. 59407V

Line 13c

Line 23

If you checked “Yes” on line 13a, the child meets the conditions
to be a qualifying child of both the taxpayer and at least one
other person. However, only one of those persons can treat the
child as a qualifying child and take, if otherwise eligible, all of the
following tax benefits using that child: the child’s dependency
exemption, the child tax credit, head of household filing status,
the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion
for dependent care benefits, and the EIC. The other person(s)
cannot take the EIC for people who do not have a qualifying
child. In addition, the other person cannot take any of the six tax
benefits just listed unless he or she has a different qualifying
child. (There is an exception to this rule if the special rule for
divorced or separated parents applies, because the
noncustodial parent can claim an exemption and the child tax
credit for the child; see Rule 9 in Pub. 596.)

Check “Does not apply” if the answer to question 13a is “No.”

Lines 24 and 25

If a reasonable and well-informed tax return preparer
knowledgeable in the law would conclude that any information
the taxpayer has given you appears to be incorrect, incomplete,
or inconsistent with the taxpayer's eligibility to claim the EIC, you
must ask the taxpayer reasonable questions to get information
that is correct, consistent, and complete. You must document
the questions you asked and the answers you received. This is
how you meet your knowledge requirement.
Line 24. Check “Does not apply” on line 24 if you did not need
to ask any additional questions because you were not given any
information that appeared to be incorrect, inconsistent, or
incomplete.

Tiebreaker rules. To determine which person can treat the
child as a qualifying child, the following tiebreaker rules apply.
If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is
treated as the qualifying child of the parent.
If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child
as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of
the parents.
If the parents do not file a joint return together but both
parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the
child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child
lived for the longer period of time during the year. If the child
lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will
treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the
higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year.
If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child
is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the
highest AGI for the year.
If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no
parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the
qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the
year, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI
of any of the child’s parents who can claim the child.
Subject to the rules just described, the taxpayer and the other
person(s) may be able to choose which of them treats the child
as a qualifying child. If the taxpayer allows another person to
treat the child as a qualifying child, check “No” on line 13c. For
examples and details, see Pub. 596.
In many cases, the taxpayer should be able to tell you
whether his or her AGI is higher than the AGI of the child’s
parents or other person.

Line 25. There are three separate questions on line 25. They
are labeled (a), (b), and (c). If the answer to any of them ((a), (b),
or (c)) is “No,” check “No.”
If the answer to all three is “Does not apply,” check “Does not
apply.”
Otherwise, check “Yes.”

Lines 26 and 27

You must keep copies of any documents provided by the
taxpayer that you relied on to determine whether any child is a
qualifying child. See Document Retention, later, for details.
If you did not rely on any documents, check the appropriate
box (m, n, t and/or u on line 26 or k or l on line 27).
Check all the boxes that apply. However, if you check box a,
m, or n on line 26, do not check any other box from b to l on
line 26. If you check box o, t, or u on line 26, do not check any
other box from p to s on line 26. If you check box a, k, or l on
line 27, do not check any other box on line 27.
There is no limit to the number of documents you can enter
on lines 26l, 26s, or 27j. If you need more space, use a separate
sheet of paper.

Document Retention

You must keep the records described in 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e in
the due diligence checklist at the bottom of page 3 of Form
8867. You must keep those records for 3 years from the latest of
the following dates that apply.
The due date of the tax return (not including extensions).
The date the return was filed (if you are a signing tax return
preparer electronically filing the return).
The date the return was presented to the taxpayer for
signature (if you are a signing tax return preparer not
electronically filing the return).
The date you submitted to the signing tax return preparer the
part of the return for which you were responsible (if you are a
nonsigning tax return preparer).
These records may be kept on paper or electronically in the
manner described in Revenue Procedure 97-22 (or later
update). Revenue Procedure 97-22 is on page 9 of Internal
Revenue Bulletin 1997-13, which is available at www.irs.gov/
pub/irs-irbs/irb97-13.pdf.

Line 14

See the line 3 instructions for the definition of a valid SSN. If the
child does not have a valid SSN because he or she was born
and died during the year, check “Yes.”

Line 17

Check “Yes” if the taxpayer (or the taxpayer's spouse if filing a
joint return) was born after December 31, 1948, and before
January 2, 1989.
If the taxpayer's spouse died in 2013, see Pub. 596 before
you answer.

Line 22

Check “Does not apply” if:
The taxpayer does not have a qualifying child, or
The taxpayer's qualifying child is the taxpayer's son or
daughter.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for you to obtain
the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. You are required to obtain this
information.

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You are not required to obtain the information requested on a
form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the
form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as
their contents may become material in the administration of any
Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required by Internal Revenue
Code section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
time is:

Learning about the law or the form . . . .
Preparing and sending the form . . . . . .

18 min.
1 hr., 49 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would
be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for the tax return
with which this form is filed.

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