Making Work Pay Tax Credit

A component of the Stimulus, the Making Work Pay Credit was available for the 2009 and 2010 tax years. The refundable tax credit gave back to working Americans 6.2% of their earned income, up to maximums of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples filing jointly.

If you have taxes withheld by an employer, the credit was most likely returned to you over the course of the year in the form of slightly larger paychecks. Similarly, self-employed individuals should have adjusted their estimated tax payments to account for the credit.

If, however, you did not receive the credit through adjusted withholding, you can claim it by attaching Schedule M [Making Work Pay Credit] to your tax return.

The credit is phased out between modified adjusted gross income levels of $75,000 and $95,000 for individuals and $150,000 and $190,000 for joint filers. Also, it is not available to any taxpayer claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. Nor is it available to those who received an economic recovery payment.