can you still get the earn income on taxes if you haven't worked?

"and get the full amount back"

You can only "get back" what you pay in.

As for EITC - Earned Income Tax Credit - this is NOT earned income. Earned Income means you Work for it. Unearned Income is also known as Passive Income because you get it without doing anything for it. Investments, settlements, alimony are forms of Unearned Income.

Child Support, which this is probably, is NOT eligible as either a deduction (for the payer) or income (for the recipient).

When she files her taxes, she may qualify for the Child Tax Credit. This will reduce her taxes by $1,000 for each child under age 17 that she claims as a dependent.

In order to get the Earned Income Credit, as well as the Additional Child Tax Credit, she must have qualifying income (earned income). As for the retirement check, most often that is not earned income, but there are exceptions. In particular, if she is retired on disability and she has not reached full retirement age as defined by her employer, then even though the retirement income may be reported on Form 1099R, it is counted as earned income. In some cases (i.e. a short-term disability), what you may call retirement income is reported on Form W-2, and if this is the case it will be treated as earned income.

Unless either of these exceptions apply, she will not get the Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit based on her retirement income.

When they were legally married he and her were each a cotaxpayer on that MFJ FIT return for that tax year OK he could not qualify to use the HOH on that 1040 FIT return OK.

And NO she will NOT qualify for any of the EITC credit amount during the 2014 tax filing season on her 2013 1040 FIT tax return with out some of qualified EARNED income amounts that she would have to work for to earn during the 2013 tax year OK.

Hope that you find the above enclosed information useful. 09/05/2013

it is called an EARNED INCOME CREDIT due to the fact the taxpayer has some earned income, ie. wages or self employment, retirement money is not earned

and no, it is highly unlikely she will get anything like $9K as a refund

Earned income consists of wages only.

If she does not work, logically, she does not have any earned income. Alimony is not considered to be earned income nor is income from a pension and/or a retirement fund.

No, someone is only eligible for the EARNED income credit if they have EARNED income for that year.

EARNED income. She has earned no income. Earned income is income from a job.

She will get no refund.

nope she has to have an earned income.

she can find a library to read how to file

her taxes b4 she has legal IRS problems.