Most low-income taxpayers are unaware they could qualify to get more money back from their tax returns.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a federal tax benefit aimed at low-income working individuals and families. The program has been active since it was approved in 1975, said Sue Hales, Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman.

Last year, more than 21 million taxpayers collected more than $36 billion in EITC payments, according to the IRS Web site.

“We’ve been trying to get the word out for years,” Hales said. “We figure 25 percent of Illinois residents are eligible but don’t take advantage of the program because they don’t know it’s even there.”

The EITC gives larger tax returns to taxpayers who qualify and file for its benefits.

Shante Lubemba, tax preparer for Jackson Hewitt, 2022 Sycamore Road, said a lot of people who come in for tax preparation are unaware they are eligible for the EITC.

“There are people who come in thinking they aren’t getting anything back, and then they get something,” Lubemba said.

Tax filers are not required to claim a dependent in order to qualify for the EITC, Lubemba said. There are benefits for singles who make less than $11,490 a year.

This year the IRS has changed combat pay eligibility for the EITC.

Military families can calculate their combat pay as taxable income if it maximizes their EITC return, Hales said.

“If combat pay is counted as income, you [have] to count all of it or none,” Hales said.

This change was implemented to give more aid to the families who need it, Hales said.

John Wancheck, Illinois Center on Budget and Policy Priorities EITC campaign coordinator, said he agrees.

“A family that counted combat pay as income would get a substantial refund from the IRS,” Wancheck said.