The earned income tax credit provides substantial assistance to low- and moderate-income workers. Benefits tilt heavily to families with children. Prompted in part by the success of the credit and in part by shortcomings in the credit, policymakers, advocates, and analysts have offered up reform...
The federal earned income tax credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit that provides substantial cash benefits to low-income working families with children. Working adults without children at home— including noncustodial parents, who are considered “childless” for tax purposes—also face economic...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 doubled the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. But about 29 million children under age 17 with at least one working parent will miss out on the full increase because their families earn too little in income or owe too little in taxes.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would reduce tax revenue by nearly $1.5 trillion over the 10-year budget window from FY2018 to FY2027. Analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that the tax cuts would tilt heavily toward the highest fifth of the income distribution, largely the result of cuts to...
Families with young children tend to have lower incomes than other families. The current child tax credit provides substantial benefits to families with children, but the maximum benefit of $1,000 is the same for all children under 17, regardless of age. We analyze a proposal that would provide...
Statement of Elaine Maag, Senior Research Associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, before the Democratic Women’s Working Group on May 24th, 2017.
The income tax provisions related to families and work—filing status, rate schedules, the standard deduction, personal exemptions, the child and earned income tax credits, and the taxation of dependents—are complex, too small to encourage work for many low earners, and unfair to some families....
This brief analyzes seven options for Child Tax Credit reform that would (1) make the CTC more consistent with other parts of the tax code; (2) target additional benefits to young children; or (3) broadly increase the credit for most current recipients.
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...
The federal child tax credit provides a credit of up to $1,000 per child under age 17; the refundable portion of the credit, which is crucial for low-income families, is limited to 15 percent of earnings above a defined threshold. That threshold is set to increase from $3,000 to almost $15,000...
Redesigning the EITC: Issues in Design, Eligibility, Delivery, and Administration
The earned income tax credit provides substantial assistance to low- and moderate-income workers. Benefits tilt heavily to families with children. Prompted in part by the success of the credit and in part by shortcomings in the credit, policymakers, advocates, and analysts have offered up reform...
Expanding the EITC for Workers without Resident Children
The federal earned income tax credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit that provides substantial cash benefits to low-income working families with children. Working adults without children at home— including noncustodial parents, who are considered “childless” for tax purposes—also face economic...
Who Benefits from the Child Tax Credit Now?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 doubled the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. But about 29 million children under age 17 with at least one working parent will miss out on the full increase because their families earn too little in income or owe too little in taxes.
This...
Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Families with Young Children
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would reduce tax revenue by nearly $1.5 trillion over the 10-year budget window from FY2018 to FY2027. Analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that the tax cuts would tilt heavily toward the highest fifth of the income distribution, largely the result of cuts to...
Analysis of a Young Child Tax Credit
Families with young children tend to have lower incomes than other families. The current child tax credit provides substantial benefits to families with children, but the maximum benefit of $1,000 is the same for all children under 17, regardless of age. We analyze a proposal that would provide...
Understanding Child Care Subsidies in the Tax System
Statement of Elaine Maag, Senior Research Associate at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, before the Democratic Women’s Working Group on May 24th, 2017.
An Option to Reform the Income Tax Treatment of Families and Work
The income tax provisions related to families and work—filing status, rate schedules, the standard deduction, personal exemptions, the child and earned income tax credits, and the taxation of dependents—are complex, too small to encourage work for many low earners, and unfair to some families....
Reforming the Child Tax Credit: An Update
This brief analyzes seven options for Child Tax Credit reform that would (1) make the CTC more consistent with other parts of the tax code; (2) target additional benefits to young children; or (3) broadly increase the credit for most current recipients.
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...
Reforming the Child Tax Credit: How Different Proposals Change Who Benefits
The federal child tax credit provides a credit of up to $1,000 per child under age 17; the refundable portion of the credit, which is crucial for low-income families, is limited to 15 percent of earnings above a defined threshold. That threshold is set to increase from $3,000 to almost $15,000...