Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: there is no upper age limit on the Earned Income Tax Credit when you have a qualifying child, and a grandchild counts as a qualifying child. The “you must be under 65” rule that stops so many grandparents from claiming applies only to people claiming the credit with no qualifying child. For 2026 the difference is a maximum credit of $664 against one of $4,427.
Where the age rule actually lives
The rule is real. It is just in a different section of the rules than people think. On the IRS’s own page it appears under the heading for claiming the credit without a qualifying child:
You must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of the year. If married and filing a joint return, at least one spouse must meet the age rule.
— IRS, Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — section headed “Claim the EITC without a qualifying child”
There is no corresponding age ceiling on the path for claimants who do have a qualifying child. A 71-year-old raising a grandchild is not excluded by age from anything.
A grandchild is a qualifying child
To be a qualifying child for the EITC, your child must be your: Son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child or foster child; Brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsister or stepbrother; Grandchild, niece or nephew
— IRS, Qualifying Child Rules
The statute reaches the same result through a different phrase — a qualifying child includes a child of the taxpayer or a descendant of such a child, which is what a grandchild is:
(2) Relationship For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), an individual bears a relationship to the taxpayer described in this paragraph if such individual is— (A) a child of the taxpayer or a descendant of such a child
— 26 U.S.C. §152(c)(2)(A)
What the difference is worth in 2026
For taxable years beginning in 2026, the following amounts are used to determine the earned income credit under § 32(b)… Number of Qualifying Children: One / Two / Three or More / None. Earned Income Amount $13,020 / $18,290 / $18,290 / $8,680. Maximum Amount of Credit $4,427 / $7,316 / $8,231 / $664.
— Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 3.06
Set against each other: a grandparent who believes the age rule applies to them claims nothing, or claims the childless credit at a 2026 maximum of $664. The same grandparent raising one grandchild has a 2026 maximum of $4,427. With two, $7,316. With three or more, $8,231. This is one of the largest single recoverable amounts in this entire guide, and it is lost to a misunderstanding rather than to a rule.
The other tests still apply
Age is not the only condition, and we are not going to imply the credit is automatic. The child must meet the age, residency and joint-return tests as well as the relationship test; you need earned income; and your income has to be below the phase-out for your filing status and number of children. What is not a barrier is your own age.
If you did not claim it in earlier years
An amended return is generally possible for a limited number of prior years. If you have been raising a grandchild for several years under the impression you were too old to claim, that is worth asking about specifically rather than writing off — but the window is not open indefinitely, so it is worth asking soon.
Honest gaps
Phase-out thresholds vary by filing status and by number of qualifying children, and we have not reproduced the full table here. Where two people could each claim the same child there are tie-breaker rules we have not covered.
Related: claiming a grandchild as a dependent · the money guide.
General information drawn from the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations and IRS publications, not legal or tax advice. Thresholds and dollar figures are adjusted regularly and several of the rules here turn on facts this page cannot see, so check the current year before you act on a number.