Giving credit where it's due.

• Author: Hathaway, Jessica
• Position: TRENDS

You do the math, enter all your information on the forms and check it again. Then once more. Why? Well, it's tax season and you don't want to miss out on a refund.

At least not knowingly.

About 20 percent of low-income workers, however, don't claim the earned income tax credit for which they're eligible. The EITC is a federal credit available to workers based on their income, marital status and number of dependent children. The amount of the credit varies. For tax year 2016, a single worker making less than $14,880 can get up to $506. In contrast, a married couple making less than $53,505 with three or more children qualifies for up to $6,269.

The average refund received is about $2,455, and in tax year 2014 more than 27 million eligible workers claimed more than $67 billion. In 26 states and Washington, D.C., workers can get an additional state tax credit.

So why would someone leave money, potentially thousands of dollars, on the table?

It's often because they don't know about the EITC or what they need to do to claim it. Last year, Arizona, California, Iowa and Virginia passed legislation to share information about the EITC and help workers properly file their taxes.

This type...