Joyce, a single parent, lives in an apartment with her two minor children (ages 8 and 10), whom she supports. Joyce earns $33,000 during 2022. She uses the standard deduction and files as a head of household.

a. Calculate the amount, if any, of Joyce’s earned income credit.

b. During the year, Joyce is offered a new job that has greater future potential than her current job. If she accepts the job offer, her earnings for the year will be $39,000; however, she is afraid she will not qualify for the earned income credit. Using after-tax cash-flow calculations, determine whether Joyce should accept the new job offer. Since the child tax credit will be the same under either scenario, you can ignore it for purposes of this analysis.