How to Complete New York Form IT-215: Claim for Earned Income Credit

To fill out New York Form IT-215, work through it as a bridge from your federal return to your state return: confirm on lines 1–3 that you qualified for and claimed the federal earned income credit, list your qualifying children on line 4, copy income and federal-credit figures from your 1040 onto lines 6–10, multiply by 30 percent on lines 11–16 to get your New York State credit, and, if you were a part-year resident, nonresident, or New York City resident, keep going through the sections built for those situations. The finished form attaches to Form IT-201 (residents) or Form IT-203 (part-year residents and nonresidents), and the credit is fully refundable.¹

Before You Start

Two facts decide whether you can use this form at all. First, you must have claimed the federal earned income tax credit on your Form 1040. If you didn’t, or didn’t qualify, the state credit is off the table — every federal eligibility rule (age, valid Social Security numbers, filing status) carries over. Second, your investment income has to stay under the annual limit. The current IT-215 instructions set that at $11,950, combining taxable interest, tax-exempt interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gains.² The IRS adjusts that number each year, so check the instructions for your tax year.

Married filing separately? You can claim the federal EIC, and therefore the New York credit, only if you had a qualifying child who lived with you more than half the year and you either lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year or were legally separated under a written agreement or court decree.³

Pull these together before you start writing on the form:

Your completed federal Form 1040. You’ll copy from line 1z (wages), lines 2a and 2b (interest), line 3b (dividends), line 7a (capital gains), and line 27a (federal EIC).
Worksheet A or Worksheet B from the federal 1040 instructions, if you used them. Several IT-215 lines feed straight from those worksheets.
Federal Schedule EIC, if you claimed qualifying children. You’ll need each child’s name, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship to you exactly as reported there.
Your Form IT-201 or IT-203, at least partially filled in. The federal AGI on line 19 of either return goes onto IT-215.

Lines 1 Through 5: Eligibility and Qualifying Children

Line 1 asks whether you claimed the federal EIC. A “no” ends the form. Line 2 asks about investment income; over the limit and you also stop. Line 4 is where you list up to three qualifying children with names, suffixes, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and relationships. If you claimed more than three on your federal Schedule EIC, enter the first three here and attach a separate statement giving the same details for each additional child, with your name and SSN at the top of that page.²

Lines 6 Through 10: Pulling Your Income and Federal Credit Numbers

Line 6 uses Worksheet A from the IT-215 instructions. Add your wages from federal Form 1040 line 1z and any nontaxable combat pay from line 1i. Clergy members are directed to a different figure from step 5 of the federal EIC worksheet.

Line 7 captures any Medicaid waiver payments you excluded on your federal return. Line 8 applies only if you filed federal Schedule 1; you enter your self-employment income or loss from federal Worksheet B. Line 9 is your federal adjusted gross income, taken from line 19 of your IT-201 or IT-203. Line 10 is the federal EIC amount from Form 1040 line 27a.¹

Lines 11 Through 17: Calculating the State Credit

Lines 11 through 13 do the 30-percent math. Multiply your federal EIC by 0.30, and that’s your tentative New York State credit. The form then reduces that amount by any household credit you claimed under Tax Law Section 606(b). What lands on line 16 is your allowable New York State earned income credit.⁴

Line 17 handles one specific situation: you filed a joint federal return but have to file separate New York returns. You and your spouse split the line 16 credit however you agree, so long as the two pieces don’t together exceed line 16.²

For a sense of scale, the state credit tracks the federal maximums. In tax year 2026 the federal maximum runs from $664 with no qualifying children to $8,231 with three or more, which puts the New York State maximum somewhere between roughly $199 and about $2,469 depending on family size.⁴ Your actual number depends on income; federal AGI limits for 2026 stretch from $19,540 (single, no children) up to $70,224 (married filing jointly with three or more children).

Lines 18 Through 26: Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents

All filers stop at line 17. If you were a New York resident for only part of the year, or earned New York source income as a nonresident, you keep going through lines 18–26.

The math is a fraction. Numerator: your federal AGI for the period you lived in New York, or, for nonresidents, your New York source income. Denominator: your total federal AGI for the whole year. Multiply the credit from line 16 by that fraction, and that’s your allowable credit. Any excess above your New York tax liability is refundable, but the refund is prorated by the same fraction.⁵ Form IT-203 supplies the New York source income figures you’ll need.

Lines 27 and 28: The New York City Credit

If you were a New York City resident at any point during the tax year, you claim the city earned income credit on lines 27 and 28 of the same IT-215; no separate form. The city credit runs from 10 to 30 percent of the federal EIC, with higher match rates going to the lowest-income households. The IT-215 instructions walk you through that calculation after the state credit lines are done.²

Where the Number Goes on Your Return

Residents transfer the amount from line 16 to Form IT-201, line 65. Nonresidents and part-year residents transfer it to Form IT-203, line 43. Attach IT-215 to the return.

Filing and Refund Timing

E-filing through approved tax software is the fastest route. If you file on paper and are claiming a refund without a payment, mail the whole packet — IT-201 or IT-203 plus all attachments including IT-215 — to:

STATE PROCESSING CENTER
PO BOX 61000
ALBANY NY 12261-0001⁶

One timing note. Federal law requires the IRS to hold refunds on returns claiming the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit until at least February 15. Because the New York credit rides on the federal credit, that delay can push out your state refund too.⁷

If You’re a Noncustodial Parent

New York has a separate earned income credit for noncustodial parents who pay child support and don’t live with their children. That credit uses Form IT-209, not IT-215, and you can’t claim both. If you qualify for the federal EIC and are also a noncustodial parent current on child support, the instructions suggest completing Schedule B of IT-209 to compare which credit is larger before you choose.⁸

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. NY Form IT-215 – Claim for Earned Income Credit
2
Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-215 Claim for Earned Income Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Earned Income Credit (New York State)
5
New York State Senate. New York Code TAX 606 – Credits Against Tax
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Department of Taxation and Finance. Mailing Address (Personal Income Tax Returns)
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NYC311. Tax Preparation
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form IT-209 Claim for Noncustodial Parent New York State Earned Income Credit