The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to taxpayers who make under a certain threshold annually. In some situations, parents and caregivers are eligible to receive the EITC as the result of a qualifying child. In these cases, certain criteria must be met. 

A qualifying child must be a qualifying child under the dependency rules (except for the requirement that the child not provide more than one-half of his or her own support). If a taxpayer claims the earned income tax credit based on a qualifying child, the child must have a Social Security number. The same tie-breaker rules apply for the EITC as for dependency.