The IRS requires professional tax preparers to file IRS Form 8867 Paid Preparer's Earned Due Diligence Checklist with each return that claims the Childless Earned Income Credit (EIC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Credit for Other Dependents (OTC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), and/or that files with the Head of Household filing status.

In TaxAct, a Red Alert will appear in the Review section of the program if this form is not completed when required. It is the responsibility of the preparer to be sure all questions on the Form 8867 are answered accurately. Below you will find some helpful tips on completing Form 8867 correctly.

Lines that must be answered as Yes or No:

• lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9a, 9b (only if the client has a qualifying child), 10, 13, 14, and 15
• lines 4a and 4b can be blank if the answer to 4 is no. They must be yes/no if line 4 is yes (cannot use N/A)

Lines that can be Yes, No or N/A:

• lines 2, 7, 7a, 8 (can be N/A if there is no Schedule C within the return)
• The questions without n/a on the Form 8867 are credit specific requirements and must be answered per IRS guidelines.

See EITC Due Diligence Law and Regulation for more information.