Congress expands tax credit for older workers still in the workforce

What it does

This bill removes the age 65 upper limit on eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), allowing workers aged 65 and older to claim the credit if they meet other income and work requirements. The change takes effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and expands a tax benefit currently available only to younger low-income workers.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is the removal of an age-based eligibility barrier to an existing refundable tax credit. It is a straightforward expansion of an existing public benefit with no hidden provisions or narrow carve-outs.

What the text implies

• Older workers who delay retirement or work part-time may see increased incentive to remain in the labor force, potentially affecting labor supply dynamics in low-wage sectors.
• The credit is refundable, meaning workers with zero or negative tax liability receive the full benefit as a payment from the Treasury — this is a direct fiscal cost to the government with no corresponding revenue offset in the bill.
• Interaction with Social Security: workers claiming EITC while also receiving Social Security benefits may face complex tax-filing scenarios, though the bill itself does not address this.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Older workers aged 65+ who remain in the workforce and earn low-to-moderate income gain direct access to a refundable tax credit, reducing their tax burden and increasing their take-home pay. The expansion has no offsetting cost to other citizens and addresses a gap in the current law that excluded older workers from a benefit designed for low-income earners.

Who stands to gain

• low-income workers aged 65+

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Section 32(c)(1)(A)(ii), U.S. Treasury

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.

• Apr 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,600,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 22 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Mike Carey, the sponsor, reported $1,809,017 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• AARP — $5,300,000 on 1 filing
• Society for Human Resource Management — $270,000 on 1 filing
• Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (sbe Council) — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.