No. The Internal Revenue Service does not pay any portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) before you file a federal tax return. You must claim the credit on a filed return, and by law the IRS cannot issue a refund for a return claiming EITC or ACTC before mid-February. That hold applies to your entire refund, not only the part attributable to either credit.
A tax preparer may offer a private refund-advance loan, but that is borrowed money from a lender—not an early IRS payment. You may owe loan or preparation fees, and the eventual IRS refund can be used to repay the advance.
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What “before filing” means for these credits
The EITC and ACTC are claimed through your income-tax return. There is no IRS application that releases a portion of either credit in advance during the year or before the return is submitted.
EITC
The EITC is a refundable federal tax credit for eligible workers and families. “Refundable” means the credit can generate a refund even if you owe no federal income tax. Eligibility and the amount depend on factors such as filing status, earned income, investment income, qualifying children, age and residency rules for the tax year.
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ACTC
The ACTC is the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. If your allowable Child Tax Credit is greater than your federal tax liability, the eligible excess may be refundable as the ACTC. The calculation is tied to the tax year and to your income, qualifying children and other return details.
For tax year 2025, the maximum ACTC was $1,700 per qualifying child. That is a dated maximum, not a promise of what any taxpayer will receive and not a figure to carry forward to another tax year without checking the current IRS rules.
Why the IRS cannot send the refund before mid-February
The IRS states: “By law, we can’t issue EITC or ACTC refunds before mid-February.” The restriction is part of the refund-timing rules for returns that claim either credit. The IRS holds the complete refund while it performs the required review; it does not release an unconnected portion first.
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- The mid-February restriction covers the whole refund, including money attributable to withholding, estimated payments or other credits.
- “Mid-February” is a statutory timing threshold, not a guaranteed deposit date. Processing, errors, identity verification, bank timing and other reviews can delay payment further.
For the 2026 filing season, an IRS news release said that many early filers who filed online, selected direct deposit, submitted an accurate and complete return and had no review issue could expect refunds by March 2, 2026. That was a conditional estimate for that season only, not a forecast for a later filing season.
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How the two ways of getting money differ
| Route | Who provides the money | When it can be available | What you must understand |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRS EITC or ACTC refund | The Internal Revenue Service | Only after you file and the statutory mid-February hold has passed | You must qualify, file a return and wait for IRS processing. The hold applies to the entire refund. |
| Private refund-advance loan | A lender associated with some fee-based tax preparers | Provider-specific; the lender may make funds available before the IRS sends the refund | This is debt, not a credit payment. Review eligibility, repayment terms, total fees and the date funds are actually released. |
| Refund-anticipation check | A tax preparer or financial institution handling the refund | It may allow preparation fees to be taken from the later refund | It changes how fees are collected; it does not make the IRS refund arrive sooner. |
The critical questions are who supplies the money, whether you have filed, whether repayment is required, what the total cost is and whether approval is guaranteed. A preparer’s use of the phrase “tax refund advance” does not turn a loan into an IRS advance.
What a private refund-advance loan involves
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes a refund-advance loan as money borrowed against an expected tax refund. If the IRS later sends the refund to an account arranged by the preparer, the loan balance and applicable charges may be deducted before the remainder is delivered to you.
Costs and repayment
- Ask for the dollar amount you will receive, the amount you must repay and every fee, including preparation, origination, account or expedited-service charges.
- Confirm whether interest or a flat finance charge applies and whether the charge changes if your actual refund is smaller than expected.
- Find out what happens if the IRS reduces the refund, rejects the credit, offsets the refund for a debt or delays processing. You may still owe the lender.
- Check whether the product requires you to use the preparer’s bank account, prepaid card or other financial service to receive the remaining refund.
Timing and availability
Terms vary by provider and filing season. There is no universal rule that an advance must be released before a return is submitted, and not every preparer offers one. Current provider eligibility, fees and release dates must be confirmed in the written agreement for your location and tax year.
The CFPB also notes that electronic filing commonly results in many refunds being issued in less than 21 days. Paying for a short-term loan therefore requires comparing its cost with the likely waiting period for your actual IRS refund, while recognizing that EITC and ACTC returns remain subject to the mid-February restriction and any additional review.
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How to claim EITC or ACTC and receive the IRS refund
- Determine the tax year. Credit limits, income thresholds and qualifying-child rules change. Use the IRS instructions for the year of the return rather than a figure from an older article.
- Gather records. Collect Forms W-2 and 1099, proof of earned income, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and residency information for qualifying children, filing-status information and records of withholding or estimated payments.
- Check eligibility. Review the EITC rules for earned income, filing status, qualifying children and investment income. For ACTC, determine whether you qualify for the Child Tax Credit and whether a refundable amount remains after applying the nonrefundable portion against tax.
- Prepare the required schedules. Your software or preparer may require Schedule EIC for EITC and Schedule 8812 for the Child Tax Credit and ACTC calculation. Follow the instructions for the specific tax year.
- File a complete, accurate return. You must file to claim EITC, even if your income is low enough that you otherwise would not have a filing requirement. E-file when appropriate and select direct deposit if you want the fastest standard delivery method available to you.
- Keep proof of submission. Save the accepted e-file confirmation or mailing evidence, a copy of the return and supporting records.
- Track the refund after filing. Use the IRS Where’s My Refund? service. It generally updates once daily, so repeated checks throughout the day will not provide a newer status.
Free and paid ways to prepare the return
IRS Publication 962 identifies several preparation routes:
- IRS Free File: an online filing route for taxpayers who meet the applicable program requirements.
- VITA and TCE: IRS-certified volunteer assistance for eligible taxpayers, including many lower-income taxpayers, older adults and people who need disability or language support.
- IRS-approved tax professionals: paid preparers who can complete the return and determine whether you meet EITC or ACTC rules.
Paid preparers who handle EITC or ACTC returns have IRS due-diligence obligations. Ask what information they need, whether they will provide a copy of the filed return and how they calculated the credits. A preparer cannot lawfully guarantee a credit amount before reviewing your facts and the applicable tax-year rules.
Common misunderstandings that can cost you money
“Refundable” does not mean “payable early”
Refundable describes what happens after the credit is calculated on a filed return: an allowable amount can produce a refund even when tax liability is zero. It does not create a pre-filing payment schedule.
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The hold is not limited to the EITC or ACTC portion
If a return claims one of these credits, the IRS cannot issue the refund before mid-February even when most of the refund comes from withholding or another source.
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A loan is not guaranteed income
An advance lender can deny an application, reduce the amount or impose conditions. If the IRS calculates a smaller refund than expected, the difference does not automatically erase the loan obligation.
A refund-anticipation check is not an advance
It may let a preparer collect preparation fees from your eventual refund. It does not move the IRS payment date forward.
Old credit amounts may be wrong for your return
The $1,700 maximum ACTC amount applies to tax year 2025. EITC amounts and income limits also vary by filing status, earned income and number of qualifying children. Use current IRS tables and instructions for the year you are filing.
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- Have you already filed, or is the offer conditional on filing through that preparer?
- Is the product labeled a loan, and what is the total repayment amount in dollars?
- What happens if your refund is delayed, reduced, denied or offset?
- Are preparation fees separate from financing fees?
- When and how will the remaining IRS refund reach you?
- Can you file through a free option instead of paying for preparation or borrowing costs?
- Do you receive the complete written terms before giving consent?
If the agreement does not clearly answer those questions, do not assume the advertised amount is your net proceeds or that the IRS guarantees the transaction.
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What to do if your refund is delayed
First confirm that the return was accepted and that the bank-account details were entered correctly. Then check Where’s My Refund? for the latest available status. The service is designed for post-filing tracking and updates once daily.
A delay can result from an incomplete return, a mismatch in reported information, identity verification, an arithmetic or eligibility issue, a refund offset or routine review. Do not file a second return merely because the tracker has not changed. If you used a private advance, contact the lender promptly to ask how the delay affects repayment; the loan agreement controls that question.
The answer in one sentence
You cannot receive part of the EITC or ACTC from the IRS before filing; file an eligible return, observe the mid-February refund rule and use a private advance only if you understand that it is a separate, fee-bearing loan with provider-specific terms.
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