As BNA ($) reports today, the administration is looking at ways to make EITC eligibility easier to figure out. According to the article, the IRS estimates that more than 22 million individuals and families received EITC benefits in the 2005 tax year, yet roughly 25 percent of those eligible do not claim it, due in part to the tax credit's "labyrinthine computations" currently needed to determine eligibility. In an effort to address this problem, the administration proposes to reform EITC eligibility as follows:

• allow separated spouses to claim the EITC
• simplify the rules regarding presence of a qualifying child
• allow taxpayers to receive the EITC for workers without qualifying children if their children do not have valid Social Security numbers
• clarify when a Social Security number is valid for EITC purposes

The administration has proposed these changes in each of the past two years, but they went nowhere in the GOP-dominated 109th Congress. To get full credit, however, White House will need to request some additional money to promote and administer increased tax credit claims.