The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a tax break that low-income families receive for each additional dollar they earn. It provides them with extra money to pay for food, education, and health-care for their children while giving them an incentive to keep working – the more they work, the more tax credit they receive. Some believe government entitlement programs like welfare encourage people to remain unemployed, but the EITC avoids this and has been proven to help struggling families work their way out of poverty.