IRS Form 8862: Covered Credits, Ban Periods, and Filing

IRS Form 8862, Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, is the form you attach to your tax return to reclaim a tax credit the IRS previously reduced or denied. If the IRS disallowed your Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, or American Opportunity Tax Credit for any reason other than a math or clerical error, you generally cannot claim that credit again without this form. Skip it, and the IRS will automatically reject the credit on your current return, even if you now qualify.¹

Which Credits It Covers

Form 8862 applies to five credits. You need it if the IRS previously reduced or disallowed any of the following:

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), disallowed for any tax year after 1996
Child Tax Credit (CTC), disallowed for any tax year after 2015
Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), disallowed for any tax year after 2015
Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), disallowed for any tax year after 2015
American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), disallowed for any tax year after 2015

The December 2025 revision of the instructions also references the Refundable Child Tax Credit (RCTC) alongside the CTC and ACTC.²

The requirement is credit-specific. If the IRS denied your EITC but never touched your CTC, you only complete the sections tied to the EITC. And if the denial was solely due to a math or clerical error, such as an added-wrong column or a transposed Social Security number, Form 8862 does not apply. Math error adjustments follow a different process: the IRS sends a notice explaining the correction, and you have 60 days to contest it directly.¹

When You Do Not Need to File It

Three situations exempt you from the Form 8862 requirement:

You already filed it and the credit was allowed. If you previously submitted Form 8862, the IRS approved the credit, and the credit has not been reduced or disallowed again for anything other than a math error, you do not need to file it a second time.
You received a CP74 notice. This notice confirms the IRS has recertified you based on a prior Form 8862, and it explicitly states you will not need to file the form again for the credits listed.³
You switched from EITC with a child to EITC without a child. If your EITC was denied solely because of a qualifying child issue, and you now claim the EITC without any qualifying child, Form 8862 is not required.

These exceptions come directly from the Form 8862 instructions.⁴ If you have a CP74, keep it in your records as proof.

Ban Periods You Need to Check First

Not every disallowance is treated equally. When the IRS decides a claim was an honest mistake, you can refile with Form 8862 as soon as the next tax year. When the IRS finds something more serious, a mandatory waiting period applies before you can claim the credit again at all.

Two-year ban: applies when the IRS makes a final determination that your claim was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules. You cannot claim the credit for two tax years after the year of that determination.
Ten-year ban: applies when the IRS makes a final determination that your claim was due to fraud. You cannot claim the credit for ten tax years after the year of that determination.

These ban periods are written into the Internal Revenue Code for each covered credit.⁵⁶ When a ban is imposed, the IRS sends a CP79A notice telling you which credits are affected and how long the ban lasts.⁷ Keep that notice. You need it to know the exact tax year you can start claiming the credit again.

One detail catches people off guard. If you try to claim a banned credit by e-filing, the IRS rejects your entire electronic return. During a ban period, the only way to claim the credit is to attach Form 8862 to a paper return and mail it in.² For most people that means waiting until the ban expires. If you believe the ban was imposed incorrectly, you can file a paper return during the ban to contest it, but expect significant processing delays.

How to Complete Form 8862

The form has four parts. You always complete Part I, then fill out only the parts that correspond to the credits you are reclaiming.

Part I: All Filers

Line 1 asks for the tax year you are filing for now, which is the year you want the credit, not the year it was denied. Line 2 asks you to check a box for each credit you are reclaiming. You can check multiple boxes if more than one credit was disallowed.⁴

Part II: Earned Income Tax Credit

Section A applies if you are claiming the EITC with a qualifying child. You list each child and answer questions about relationship, age, and how long the child lived with you in the United States during the tax year. The child must have lived with you for more than half the year.²

Section B applies if you are claiming the EITC without a qualifying child. You answer questions about your main home in the United States, confirm you are not a qualifying child of another taxpayer, and confirm your age meets the requirements for the childless EITC.

Part III: CTC, ACTC, and Credit for Other Dependents

You list the names and details of each qualifying child or dependent. The residency requirement mirrors the EITC: more than half the year. You also need to have completed Schedule 8812 and attached it to your return.

Part IV: American Opportunity Tax Credit

This section asks about the student’s enrollment status and qualified education expenses. You will need Form 1098-T from the school showing tuition payments, plus records of expenses for books and required course materials. The instructions direct you to Publication 970 and the Form 8863 instructions for detailed AOTC eligibility rules.

Documentation That Backs the Form Up

Form 8862 itself is mostly checkboxes and short answers, but the IRS scrutinizes returns closely after a prior disallowance. The form is your certification; the documentation is what protects you when the IRS asks follow-up questions. Have it ready before you file.

Residency

The residency requirement is the most common reason credits get denied in the first place, which is also where the IRS looks hardest on recertification. Useful records include school enrollment documents showing your address, childcare provider records, medical records listing the child’s home address, and lease agreements or utility bills showing shared residence.⁸

One rule trips people up. Temporary absences for school, vacation, medical care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility still count as time the child lived with you. Months at a boarding school or summer camp count toward the more-than-half-the-year requirement.⁴

Relationship and Identity

Birth certificates establish the parent-child relationship. For other qualifying relationships, such as siblings, stepchildren, or foster children, you may need court orders, placement agency letters, or other official records. Have Social Security cards available for every person listed on the form.

Income

For the EITC, you need proof of earned income: W-2s for wages, Schedule C or Schedule SE for self-employment income. If you are self-employed, keep business records, bank statements, and receipts that document your income and expenses. The IRS denies many EITC claims because self-employment income cannot be verified, and this is where claims most often fall apart on recertification.

Filing and What to Expect After

Form 8862 cannot be filed on its own. Attach it to your Form 1040 for the tax year you are claiming the credit.¹ Include all the schedules and forms for the credits you are claiming: Schedule EIC for the EITC, Schedule 8812 for the CTC, or Form 8863 for the AOTC.

If you e-file with tax software, the software should generate Form 8862 as part of your return. The one exception is a return filed during an active ban period, which must be mailed on paper because the IRS rejects any e-filed return that attempts to claim a banned credit.² If you are paper filing for any reason, include your supporting documentation in the mailing package.

Expect your refund to take longer than a typical return. By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds for returns claiming the EITC or ACTC before mid-February, regardless of how early you file.⁹ On top of that, returns with Form 8862 attached are more likely to be selected for additional review. You may receive a CP05 notice telling you the IRS needs more time, or a request for supporting documents. Responding quickly and completely to any IRS correspondence is the single best thing you can do to speed the process along.

1
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8862, Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8862 (Rev. December 2025)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Notice CP74
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8862 (12/2025)
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 32 – Earned Income
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 24 – Child Tax Credit
7
Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP79A Notice
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 596 (2025), Earned Income Credit (EIC)
9
Internal Revenue Service. When to Expect Your Refund if You Claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit