Individual Income Tax Credits & Due Diligence Requirements 2026

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Introduction to the Course

Governments have historically used a “carrot and stick” approach to encouraging individuals and businesses to behave in ways it deems desirable: tax credits for acting as requested and tax penalties for failing to behave as required. The U.S. government similarly promotes multiple forms of socially-beneficial actions—adopting children, becoming employed, providing funds for dependents’ education, and other socially-desirable activities—by offering incentives in the form of tax credits for engaging in them. This course examines the various tax credits that may be claimed by individual taxpayers and explains how each tax credit works, its eligibility requirements, limitations, phase-outs, etc. and, for refundable tax credits, their due diligence requirements.

Of the 161,336,659 federal income tax returns received in 2023 (2022 income) by the IRS, 61,831,870 taxpayers—about 38%—claimed one or more federal income tax credits amounting to a total of $154.8 billion.[1] For a tax preparer that prepares 150 to 200 tax returns in a season, the numbers indicate that he or she is likely to encounter between 55 and 75 returns claiming income tax credits that average approximately $2,500.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

Describe and identify the requirements for claiming the various income tax credits available to individual taxpayers;
List the due diligence requirements a tax preparer must meet when preparing a tax return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and Other Dependent Credit (CTC, ACTC, ODC);
Recognize the records a tax return preparer is required to keep to support a client’s claim for the EIC, AOTC, CTC, ACTC and ODC; and
Identify the penalties that may be imposed on a tax preparer and his or her employer for failing to comply with due diligence requirements when preparing a client’s tax return claiming the EIC, AOTC, CTC, ACTC or ODC.

[1] https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-individual-income-tax-returns-complete-report-publication-1304-basic-tables-part-1.

No advance preparation needed

Program Level – Basic
Program prerequisites – None
Delivery method – QAS self-study
Recommended CPE credits – 5
Recommended field of study – Taxes

IRS course approval #: NBOAN-T-00036-25-S

Course Learning Objectives

Describe and identify the requirements for claiming the various income tax credits available to individual taxpayers;
List the due diligence requirements a tax preparer must meet when preparing a tax return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and Other Dependent Credit (CTC, ACTC, ODC);
Recognize the records a tax return preparer is required to keep to support a client’s claim for the EIC, AOTC, CTC, ACTC and ODC;
Identify the penalties that may be imposed on a tax preparer and his or her employer for failing to comply with due diligence requirements when preparing a client’s tax return claiming the EIC, AOTC, CTC, ACTC or ODC;
Calculate the tax credits available for taxpayers’ energy-efficient home improvements; and
Describe the tax credits available for the purchase of electric vehicles.

Copyright 2026 by Winn Publications ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS COURSE MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER. All materials relating to this course are copyrighted by Winn Publications. Purchase of a course includes a license for one person to use the course materials. Absent specific written permission from the copyright holder, it is not permissible to distribute files containing course materials or printed versions of course materials to individuals who have not purchased the course. It is also not permissible to make the course materials available to others over a computer network, Intranet, Internet, or any other storage, transmittal, or retrieval system. This document is designed to provide general information and is not a substitute for professional advice in specific situations. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or accounting advice which should be provided only by professional advisers. No advance preparation needed Program Level - Basic Program prerequisites - None Delivery method - QAS self-study Recommended CPE credits - 5 Recommended field of study - Taxes