Guides
Arizona, Georgia and Washington state tax credits preparers must verify
A preparer's checklist of state credits to confirm in Arizona, Georgia and Washington before filing, with amounts, income limits and the official page behind each.
What to take away
- Washington has no wage income tax, but its Working Families Tax Credit is a separate application that many preparers' clients miss.
- Georgia adds a Qualifying Child Credit of $250 per child under six for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and neither of its two child-related credits can be carried forward.
- Arizona keeps small credits in its statutes, including a refundable credit capped at $100 and a nonrefundable credit capped at $240.
- Dollar limits are indexed or amended over time. Check the state page for the specific tax year before you rely on a figure from this article.
- Put each credit on an intake question list, so the client is asked about it every season.
How to use this list
State credits are easy to overlook because the federal return does not prompt for them. A preparer who works from the federal return alone will miss a credit that needs its own application (Washington) or a line on the state return (Georgia and Arizona). The sections below set out, for each state, the credits checked at the official source, the conditions that decide eligibility and the point where preparers usually slip.
Pair this list with your state filing calendar, because a credit is worth nothing if the return is late.
Washington: the Working Families Tax Credit
Washington is among the states without a tax on wages, which the site's article on state tax deadline differences covers. That does not mean the state has nothing for low-income workers. The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is a state credit with similar eligibility rules to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
According to the state's eligibility page for the 2025 tax year, all of these must be true:
- The applicant has a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
- The applicant lived in Washington at least 183 days in 2025.
- The applicant is at least 25 and under 65, or has a qualifying child in 2025.
- The applicant files a 2025 federal return and would be eligible for the federal EITC. ITIN filers who would otherwise meet the EITC rules also qualify.
The state lists income limits and maximum credits by number of qualifying children:
| Qualifying children | Single, head of household or married filing separately | Married filing jointly | Maximum credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $19,104 | $26,214 | $335 |
| 1 | $50,434 | $57,554 | $660 |
| 2 | $57,310 | $64,430 | $995 |
| 3 | $61,555 | $68,675 | $1,330 |
The minimum credit is $50. Filing Form 2555 disqualifies an applicant, and investment income must stay within IRS limits.
For preparers, the practical points come from the state's preparer resources page. Many federal tax software companies have added the WFTC application to their products. Before you discuss a client's information with the Department of Revenue, the client must submit a Confidential Tax Information Authorization form. The state also notes that processing times currently exceed 90 days, so tell clients to expect a wait. The application is separate from the federal return, which is why it is worth a line on your intake sheet.
Georgia: credits with their own conditions
Georgia's Department of Revenue lists its individual tax credits by code. Three are likely to touch a typical individual client.
Qualifying Child Credit (code 215). The credit is $250 for each qualifying child, effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. The child must be a qualifying child under Section 24(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and must not have reached age six during the taxable year. Only one taxpayer may claim the credit for a given child. Where parents do not file jointly, the custodial parent or guardian who had the child for more than six months generally claims it. A noncustodial parent can claim it by attaching a court order or a written statement from the custodial parent assigning the credit. The credit cannot exceed income tax liability, and unused credit cannot be carried forward or back. For part-year residents and nonresidents, it is prorated on the income taxable to Georgia reported on Schedule 3, Line 9 of Form 500.
Child and Dependent Care Expense Credit (code 202). This is 50% of the federal credit claimed under Section 21 of the Internal Revenue Code. It cannot exceed Georgia income tax liability and cannot be carried to other years. If your client has a federal dependent care credit, check that the Georgia amount follows.
Low Income Tax Credit (code 211). The state's list says the filer's federal adjusted gross income must be under $20,000 and the filer cannot be claimed, or be eligible to be claimed, as a dependent. The detail page adds that part-year residents qualify only if they were Georgia residents at the end of the tax year, that inmates are not eligible, and that the credit must be claimed by the end of the 12th month after the tax year closes. The page does not state a dollar amount, so confirm the amount in the current instruction booklet.
Georgia's list also includes credits that turn on narrow facts, such as the Disaster Assistance Credit (code 206) for disaster assistance received from GEMA/HS or FEMA. Most of Georgia's pages name no form or schedule, so note where each credit was entered on the return.
Arizona: small credits in the statutes
Arizona's credits are set in Title 43 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. The Department of Revenue's web pages were not reachable for this review, so the figures below come from the statutes on the Arizona Legislature site. Check the department's current forms for the tax year you are preparing.
- A.R.S. 43-1072.01provides a credit of up to $25 for each Arizona resident for whom a personal or dependent exemption is allowed, capped at $100 per household. The taxpayer cannot be claimed as a dependent, and federal adjusted gross income must be no more than $25,000 for a married couple or head of household, or $12,500 for a single person or a married person filing separately. If the credit exceeds tax liability, the unused part is refunded, subject to setoff, and a claimant with no liability who is not otherwise required to file can certify this on the prescribed form. Since 2015 the claimant must have a valid Social Security number, and the spouse and qualifying children must have an SSN or ITIN.
- A.R.S. 43-1073provides a nonrefundable credit of $40 for each Arizona resident counted, with a maximum of $240 for joint filers or heads of household and $120 for single or married filing separately. Income limits depend on filing status and dependents, for example $10,000 for single or married filing separately and $20,000 for a married couple with up to one dependent.
- A.R.S. 43-1089gives a credit for cash contributions to a certified school tuition organization. The maximum is $500 for a single filer or head of household and $1,000 for married filing jointly, adjusted for inflation each year. A contribution made by April 15 can be applied to either the current or the preceding year, and unused credit carries forward up to five years.
The statutes show base figures, and 43-1089 states that its amounts are indexed. Do not quote a client the statutory number without checking the department's current-year figure.
A verification routine
- Add one intake question per creditchildren under six (Georgia), dependent care costs (Georgia), residency of 183 days and low income (Washington), school tuition contributions (Arizona).
- Record the tax year of the rule you used. Georgia's child credit begins with 2026, and Washington's current page is for 2025.
- Note where the credit was entered, since several state pages name no form.
- For Washington, file the separate application and obtain the authorization form before you contact the Department of Revenue.
- Review the file against your deadline audit before the season opens.
Common questions
Does Washington require a state income tax return?
Is Georgia's Qualifying Child Credit refundable?
Can I rely on the amounts in the Arizona statutes?
Official sources
- [Working Families Tax Credittax preparer resources (Washington Department of Revenue)](https://workingfamiliescredit.wa.gov/node/369)
