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H. Elizabeth Peters

Director, Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population
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Individual Taxes

How Well Can Limited Data Predict Annual Tax Credits

Refundable tax credits can play an important role in the financial lives of low-income families. The two that provide the most support are the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC). Refundable tax credits differ from most programs that provide income support to low-...

October 17, 2022
Elaine MaagH. Elizabeth PetersNikhita AiriKaren E. Smith
Research report
Individual Taxes

Self-Employment Patterns for Men and Women and Implications for Tax Compliance

The rise of the gig economy has increased interest in the self-employment sector and highlighted the benefits and costs of these types of jobs. One understudied issue is that self-employment (which overlaps substantially with the gig economy) concerns a part of the tax code that is difficult for...

December 9, 2019
H. Elizabeth PetersElaine Maag
Research report
Individual Taxes

Income Volatility: New Research Results with Implications for Income Tax Filing and Liabilities

Income volatility may complicate tax filing and predicting eligibility for critical tax benefits, such as the earned income tax credit. Half of all working-age adults¬—and 64 percent of low-income, working-age adults—have household income that for at least one month of the year will spike above...

May 25, 2017
Elaine MaagH. Elizabeth PetersAnthony HannaganCary Lou
Research report
Individual Taxes

Increasing Family Complexity and Volatility: The Difficulty in Determining Child Tax Benefits

The American family is changing. Individuals marry later, divorce more frequently, or live together without being married. Nonmarital births, complex custody arrangements, and multiple generations of families living together are more common, but the tax system has not kept pace. Although tax...

March 3, 2016
Elaine MaagH. Elizabeth PetersSara Edelstein