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.
Tax and transfer programs can create significant bonuses and penalties for low- and moderate-income cohabiters with children. We find that federal tax laws can create marriage penalties that reach almost 10 percent of earnings for our hypothetical couples earning $40,000 or $50,000 a year. In...
Federal and state income taxes play an important role in providing income support for low-income households by administering refundable tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit (EITC). Using the Urban Institute’s Net Income Change Calculator (NICC), which provides state- and federal-...
Taxpayers routinely have too much income tax withheld. Of the 126 million tax returns the IRS processed through April 17, 2015, almost three-quarters resulted in a refund. The average refund was $2,711 with higher average refunds going to the earliest filers.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) annually delivers over $60 billion to low-income working families. The Office of Management and Budget identifies the EITC as having the highest improper payment rate among 13 high error programs. We explore whether state SNAP and TANF administrative data can...
The earned income tax credit (EITC) lifts millions of working families out of poverty, but provides little support to workers without children living at home. Scaling back the EITC and implementing a worker credit based on individual earnings and not contingent on having children at home could...
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides substantial assistance to low-income working families with children. The credit encourages work for many, though may reduce work or wages for some. Counted in the poverty measure, the EITC would have been credited with lifting 6.5 million people out...
This Tax Fact explores the child tax credits refundability thresholds since its inception. Currently, the CTC is a $1,000-per-child credit that is partially refundable for households earning more than $3,000. This Tax Fact explores the distribution of credits when the refundability threshold...
This document reviews several notable tax proposals in President Obamas fiscal year 2015 Budget. These include expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC) for workers without qualifying children, expanding the child and dependent care tax credit for families with young children, conforming...
President Obama and others have proposed increasing the federal earned income tax credit for workers without qualifying children. That would automatically raise state EITCs in the 23 states that calculate a state-level credit for this group as a percentage of the federal credit.
A handful of the remaining Democratic presidential candidates remain committed to increasing the earned income tax credit (EITC), particularly for workers without children at home...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly changed how families with children were treated under the individual income tax, but for many - changed...
Senate Democrats have rallied around the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA) that would significantly expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and more modestly...
High-profile Democrats are floating ambitious proposals to reduce economic pressure on working Americans by expanding or supplementing tax credits for low- and middle-income families. These...
For many US households, the ongoing partial government shutdown is inconvenient. But for low-income households, it may become a severe hardship. If the shutdown goes...
Some low- and middle-income families in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Dakota are facing state income tax hikes. And the larger the family, generally...
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) is proposing to raise the incomes of working families through a new tax proposal called the “LIFT (Livable Incomes for Families...
The District of Columbia is considering a creative new plan to transform the city’s earned income tax credit (EITC) from a one-time payment received at...
The final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) generally adopted the Senate provisions that directly affect families with children. As a result,...
President Trump and House Republicans promised families a significant increase in the Child Tax Credit (CTC) . The House Ways & Means Committee’s Tax Cuts...
The Big Six Unified Framework promises a tax plan that “significantly increases the Child Tax Credit (CTC)”, but provides few details. If the child tax...
Lawmakers of both parties have been talking about restructuring the refundable tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit,...
President Trump and lawmakers such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) agree that the child tax credit should be improved. They might consider increasing the credit...
President Trump, perhaps spurred on by his daughter Ivanka, wants to use the tax code to provide new government assistance to families with children. During...
