What Is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and Do I Qualify for It?

ProPublica has covered how budget cuts at the IRS have made it harder for the agency to ensure the billionaires of the world pay up, but the cuts haven’t affected everyone equally.

In short: Wealthy taxpayers haven’t faced as much scrutiny.

For people who claim the earned income tax credit, also referred to as EITC, earned income credit or EIC, the audit rate has gone down less steeply than it has for wealthier taxpayers. Now, a person claiming the credit has as much of a chance of being audited as someone making 20 times more money.