Final answer:
The correct answer is option C. Over age 24.
Step-by-step explanation:
The eligibility requirements for the Earned Income Credit (EIC) for an individual with no children include specific age and dependency criteria. To qualify for the EIC, an individual must be at least 25 years old but under 65 at the end of the tax year. They must also have lived in the United States for more than half the tax year and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. Therefore, the option that is not a criteria for eligibility is being over age 24 (C), as the actual requirement states that one must be at least 25.
It's important to note that the EIC helps to reduce the poverty trap by slowly phasing out the credit as income increases. This is designed to provide a stronger incentive to work rather than seek governmental aid. For instance, for a single-parent family with two children in 2013, the credit was neither increased nor decreased for earnings within a certain range and then gradually reduced as income rose higher, as described by the Tax Policy Center.