Earned Income Tax Credit^
Income Tax Rate: Graduated, 2.56-6.84 percent
State EITC: Yes
Refundable: Yes
Enacted: 2006
Formula: 10 percent of the federal EITC
Notes/News: In 2013 Governor Heineman proposed eliminating the state’s income tax, which would have automatically eliminated this credit, but withdrew his proposal after substantial opposition from a wide range of stakeholders.
In January 2014, senators introduced a bill, LB956, to increase the state’s EITC from 10 percent to 13 percent of the federal credit.
In March 2015, State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks introduced a bill that would have increased the state’s EITC from 10 to 15 percent of the federal credit over two years, but it failed to pass.
Reports/Materials: Tax Modernization Committee Public Hearing Agenda, Nebraska State Legislature, September 6, 2013
Nebraska Income Tax Expenditures, Open Sky Policy Institute, August 2013
Nebraska State & Local Taxes, from Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, January 2013
Nebraska: State and Local Taxes in 2007, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, November 2009
Child Tax Credit^
State Credit: No
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit^
State Credit: Yes
Refundable: Only if income is below $29,000
Eligibility: All filers with expenses that qualify for the federal credit
Formula: Filers earning less than $22,000 may claim 100 percent of the federal credit. Filers earning between $22,000 and $29,000 may claim a percentage of the federal credit, outlined on the table below:
| Income | Percentage of federal credit |
| $22,000-$22,999 | 90 percent |
| $23,000-$23,999 | 80 percent |
| $24,000-$24,999 | 70 percent |
| $25,000-$25,999 | 60 percent |
| $26,000-$26,999 | 50 percent |
| $27,000-$27,999 | 40 percent |
| $28,000-$28,999 | 30 percent |
| ≥$29,000 | 25 percent |
The maximum credit for one child is $1,050 and the maximum credit for two or more children is $2,100.
Notes/News: In 2013 Governor Heineman proposed eliminating the state’s income tax, which would have automatically eliminated this credit, but withdrew his proposal after substantial opposition from a wide range of stakeholders.
Reports/Materials: Nebraska Income Tax Expenditures, Open Sky Policy Institute, August 2013
Property Tax Circuit Breaker^
Circuit Breaker: No
Notes/News: Nebraska does offer a homestead exemption that credits a predetermined percentage of filers’ property tax bills based on their income. Because the credit does not take into account what percentage of household income is paid in property taxes, it is not a circuit breaker. For more information see the Nebraska Department of Revenue website.
In January 2011, the Agricultural Tax Credit Act was introduced to create a property tax circuit breaker for farmers. It remained in committee throughout the 2011 session, and has been carried over to the 2012 session.