uhhh taxes

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So I just don't understand taxes. I have a friend who is a single parent and earned about $29,000 this year. She claimed her 1 son for EIC. She got back about $3,000 total in taxes. My boyfriend made $30,000. He claimed our 2 kids for EIC and he only got back $3,300! My taxes were filed separately and I am not taking them into consideration for this. I know that the EIC is based on a sliding scale based on your income but they made almost exactly the same amount of money. I am pretty sure that they both claimed the same amount of deductions during the year. Can someone explain to me why this happens? I also don't understand why you can't claim EIC and deductions for owning a home and stuff like that. The guy who does our taxes says that that isn't allowed. Does anyone actually understand this crap? I just feel like I am getting ripped off or something. My married friend and her husband have two kids also and they make a few thousand less than us a year and they got back over $7,000. I know that a few thousand less does make a difference and that being married makes a difference but that is a BIG difference! Even in the years before I feel like I was being ripped off. One year I made about $14,000 and I paid in a crazy amount of federal taxes (in the low thousands) but only got back $600. I HATE taxes!