Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credits - 2025

Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credits - 2025

Several states and at least one city require employers to provide employees with notices about the state and/or federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable income tax credit for low to moderate income workers. In many cases, the notice is required annually. Below, we summarize several of these state and local requirements.

California:
Employers are required to notify all employees of the federal and state EITCs each year. Employers must furnish the notice within one week before or after, or at the same time, they provide employees with an annual wage summary (W-2 or 1099). The notice must be provided to employees by handing it directly to the employee or by mailing the notice (or instructions for obtaining EITC notices from the Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board) to the employee’s last known address. The state requires the notice to include certain language, which can be found here.

Colorado:
Employers are required to notify all employees of the federal and state EITCs and child tax credits each year. Employers may send the written notice to employees electronically, including by email or text message. The state requires the notice to include certain language, which can be found here.

Illinois:
Employers are required to notify employees that they may be eligible for the federal EITC each year, unless the employee receives gross wages that exceed the maximum amount that may qualify for the federal EITC.

The employer must provide the following notice by giving or mailing it to the employee:
  1. Any notice available from the Internal Revenue Service for this purpose, including  IRS Form 797; or
  2.  Any notice created by the employer, as long as it contains substantially the same language as the IRS notice.
The EITC notice must be furnished within one week before or after, or at the same time, that the employer provides a Form W-2 to any employee.

Louisiana:
In general, all employers with 20 or more employees must notify new employees about the EITC at the time of hire. These employers must also post a state EITC notice in the workplace.

Maine:
Employers must post and keep posted a copy of the EITC notice published by the Bureau of Labor. This notice is included in the Regulation of Employment poster.

Maryland:
On or before December 31 each year, all Maryland employers must provide electronic or written notice to an employee who may be eligible for the federal and Maryland EITC. Employers may choose to notify all their employees or just those with income at or below the maximum for EITC eligibility. Go to the Maryland state website to obtain this year’s notice.

New Jersey:
All employers must give written notice to employees who may be eligible for the federal and/or state EITC each year. The notice must be provided between January 1 and February 15. The required notice is available here. Employers must notify employees, ages 18 and over, whom they know or reasonably believe may be eligible for the federal credit and/or NJ EITC, based on each employee’s prior year wages.

Oregon:
All Oregon employers must notify their employees about the federal and state EITC each year. The notice must be provided with the employee’s W-2 and must:
  1. Be in English and in the language the employer typically uses to communicate with the employee.
  2. Include website addresses for the Internal Revenue Service and the Oregon Department of Revenue where the employee can find information about the state and federal EITC. 
A sample notice is available here.

Philadelphia:
Employers in Philadelphia are required to give their employees information about the federal EITC at the same time they provide the form W-2 or 1099 each year. The requirement applies to any employee residing or working in Philadelphia. Employers in Philadelphia are required to provide a notice to their employees each year about the programs below:
In March 2022, the city amended the law to also require information on the city’s Wage Tax Refund and the federal Child Tax Credit. The amended version of the notice is called the Tax Liability Reduction Eligibility Notice and must be provided by February 15 each year. The amendments take effect as soon as the Tax Liability Reduction Eligibility Notice is made available by the Philadelphia Department of Revenue on its website. (As of October 2025, the Tax Liability Reduction Eligibility Notice is not posted on the phila.gov website).

Note: Under current law, Philadelphia employers are also required to give an income-based Wage Tax refund petition form to employees by February 1 each year.

Texas:
All Texas employers must notify their employees of the federal EITC no later than March 1 of each year. An employer may provide the notice in any of the following ways:
  1. In person
  2. Electronically at the employee’s last known email address
  3. Through a flier included with a pay stub (wage statement), in paper or electronic form.
  4. By first-class U.S. mail to the employee’s last known address.

Employers may use IRS Notice 797 or a written statement with the same wording as IRS Notice 797 when notifying employees.

Virginia:
All employers must post notices in the workplace about the federal EITC and the state Credit for Low- Income taxpayers. The notices must be posted in the same location where other employee notices required by state or federal law are posted. The required notices are available here.


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