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Publications by Topic
Topic: Children
Credits and Exemptions for Children (Article/Tax Facts)
Author(s):
Elaine Maag
The Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit (CTC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), and the dependent exemption all provide benefits to families
with children. In 2009, a single mom (or dad) with two children can receive benefits ranging from $0 to about $7,500 - depending on her income, age of the children,
and where the children live. While this assistance is extremely important to many low-income families, they
must navigate a bewildering set of rules to take full advantage of the credits. Due to the piecewise implementation of these credits and exemptions, total benefits bounce around erratically as income grows.
Published: 10/14/09
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Growth and Decline in Tax Credits For Families With Children (Article/Tax Facts)
Author(s):
Elizabeth Bell , C. Eugene Steuerle
Under current law, there are three major tax credits that affect families with children: the earned income tax credit, the child and dependent care tax credit, and the child tax credit.
Published: 07/10/06
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'Death Tax' Repeal Unfair to Those Who Owe 'Birth Tax' (Commentary)
Author(s):
Diane Lim Rogers
Those in favor of permanent estate tax repeal talk of the need to eliminate the "death tax," but only 1 in 200 deaths will actually result in estate tax liability this year, and only 1 in 300 by 2009. Estate tax relief benefits the very few richest households, yet imposes the tremendous and unavoidable cost of a higher federal debt--a "birth tax"--on all Americans.
Published: 05/31/06
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The Earned Income Tax Credit at Age 30: What We Know (Policy Briefs)
Author(s):
Steve Holt
Thirty years since its inception, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has become a robust and largely successful component of American labor and antipoverty policy. This research brief reviews the structure and history of the EITC, summarizing key research into the people and places it affects as well as its impact on important socioeconomic measures. The brief concludes by examining several issues surrounding the credit, and outlines proposals intended to improve the effectiveness of the EITC as it enters its fourth decade.
Published: 02/15/06
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Who Gets the Child Tax Credit? (Research Report)
Author(s):
Leonard E. Burman , Laura Wheaton
In 1997, Congress created a $500 per child tax credit (CTC). It has since been increased to $1,000 and made available to some lower-income families with children, even if they had no tax liability. Still, many low-income families (as well as some with high incomes) receive less than $1,000 per child in tax benefits. Moreover, because of differences in income, family composition, and employment status, nearly half of Blacks and 46 percent of Hispanics receive no or reduced benefits from the CTC because their incomes are too low. By comparison, only 18 percent of White children are in that category.
Published: 10/03/05
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Tax Subsidies to Help Low-Income Families Pay for Child Care (Discussion Papers/Tax Policy Center)
Author(s):
Leonard E. Burman , Elaine Maag , Jeff Rohaly
Low-income working families face enormous challenges. Key among them is how to pay for decent child care. The largest federal subsidy is the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), a nonrefundable tax credit that offsets up to 35 percent of working parents' child care costs, subject to limits. Though not earmarked specifically for child care, the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) provide more help to low-income working families. This paper considers options to reform the CDCTC to assist low-income families. Expansions to the refundable tax credits that help families with children are also analyzed.
Published: 06/23/05
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A Unified Children's Tax Credit (Research Report)
Author(s):
Adam Carasso , Jeff Rohaly , C. Eugene Steuerle
We suggest a tax reform that would repeal the EITC, the child tax credit, and the dependent exemption and replace them with a far simpler and often more generous Unified Child Credit (UCC) by 2010. Furthermore, while the dependent exemption is not allowed under the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and nearly 30 million taxpayers will be on the AMT in 2010, the UCC would provide necessary AMT relief in lieu of the dependent exemption and can be the vehicle for bipartisan AMT reform.
Published: 05/15/05
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Tax Bracket and Tax Liabilities for Families With Children (Article/Tax Facts)
Author(s):
William G. Gale
This tax fact shows that almost half of all children (and 80 percent of kids living with single parents) live in households that currently do not pay any federal income tax (net of credits). Thus, unless a new tax credit or an expansion of a tax credit is made refundable, the subsidy cannot help those children, who are presumably the most economically vulnerable.
Published: 11/22/04
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Who's Minding the Kids? (Article)
Author(s):
William G. Gale
This paper explores the relationship between federal fiscal policy and prospects for children. Issues like entitlement reform and tax cuts need to be recast in terms of their impacts on children. Federal fiscal policy is systematically hurting prospects for today's youths, not only by creating substantial debt burdens for future generations, but also by threatening cuts in investments in children. The nation needs to embark upon a pro-child fiscal agenda. [© Brookings Institution]
Published: 10/01/04
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