I believe that we can work toward providing a strong safety net for all people—and that the tax system will always be an important part of that effort.
Public benefit programs have the potential to help stabilize families when their income drops and can provide support as parents enter or reenter the workforce. As a family’s earnings rise, though, those earnings increases are often offset by declines in public...
The child tax credit (CTC) has grown to become a core component of American family tax and welfare policy. Temporary expansions made the credit fully refundable in 2021 – even very low-income families could receive the maximum benefit. On a conceptual level, full...
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) temporarily increased the child tax credit (CTC), made the credit fully refundable, and authorized the IRS to issue up to half the credit as an advance monthly payment beginning in July 2021. The IRS reports that nearly 61 million children received the...
In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act temporarily expanded the federal child tax credit (CTC) for one year, including some families formerly ineligible for the credit. This could lift 59,000 children in Oklahoma out of poverty annually, cutting the state's 13 percent child poverty rate roughly...
The 2021 temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is unprecedented in its reach and is predicted to cut American child poverty by more than half. The expanded CTC provides families with $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six and $3,000 for every child between the...
This piece looks at how an additional round of $1,400 economic impact payments would reduce poverty in each state. The project page includes an interactive map with a fact sheet for each state and DC, as a supplement to an earlier research brief on cash payments and poverty
Elaine Maag, Principal Research Associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, testified before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Business and Economic Development. The hearing included a discussion on the “Child Wealth Building Act of 2021” (B24-236) and tax policy...
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 increased the federal earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC). In turn, 28 states and the District of Columbia will see increases in their state EITCs because of existing linkages between federal and state tax codes. We estimate that...
Four major policies in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will reduce the number of people in poverty in 2021 from 44 million to 28 million – shrinking the overall poverty rate from 13.7 percent to 8.7 percent. Additional $1,400 payments could further reduce poverty to between 6.4 and 6.6 percent,...
Representatives Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) and Michelle Steel (R-CA) have introduced the Working Families Tax Cut Act to increase the standard deduction – which would increase...
Benefits from safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and tax programs such as the Earned Income Tax...
President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget would revive 2021’s enhanced child tax credit (CTC) with some new twists that seek to make the credit work...
In a year when child poverty has risen substantially following the expiration of temporary tax benefits, Washington intransigence over raising the debt ceiling could put...
In 2021, Congress enacted sweeping legislation that temporarily cut child poverty nearly in half . A key feature was the expanded child tax credit (CTC),...
Even though jobs are plentiful and wages are up, many families still face a shaky economic outlook. Higher than average inflation, which tends to hit...
As President Biden and congressional Democrats make another push to reach a compromise on a social spending, climate change, and tax bill, a key issue...
As Congress struggles to develop a scaled back version of President Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB) plan, some observers (including my TPC colleague Howard Gleckman...
In 2021, the Child Tax Credit (CTC), helped nearly all families with children . But this year, because American Rescue Plan (ARP) expansions have lapsed,...
Starting in July, many parents began receiving monthly payments of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). A new IPSOS survey as well as Urban Institute interviews...
As Congress debates whether to extend the major, but temporary, changes to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) it adopted earlier this year, a crucial question...
Families began receiving monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments on July 15. For many, those regular payments—currently permitted through the end of the year—will combat...
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told the Senate Finance Committee on April 13 that the agency could begin delivering monthly 2021 Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments...
