Just Taxes Blog by ITEP

Category: Earned Income Tax Credit


  • Joe Hughes
    Joe Hughes
    Senior Policy Analyst
    April 18, 2023

    Why is My Refund So Much Smaller This Year? Only the Good (Tax Credits) Die Young.

    This year millions of American families are finding that their refunds are much smaller than last year—or that they even owe taxes back to the government—because of the expiration of the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit that were in effect in 2021. The lapse of the expanded credits affects a majority of the middle class, but lower-income households are particularly likely to feel the sting.
  • Aidan Davis
    Aidan Davis
    State Policy Director
    November 18, 2021

    Tax Credit Reforms in Build Back Better Would Benefit a Diverse Group of Families

    The CTC and EITC provisions would have a particularly profound effect on the poorest 20 percent of Americans, who all will have incomes of less than $22,000 in 2022. Taken together, the EITC and CTC changes would lift the average income of these households by more than 10 percent.
  • Aidan Davis
    Aidan Davis
    State Policy Director
    September 13, 2021

    Extending Federal EITC Enhancements Would Bolster the Effects of State-Level Credits

    The EITC expansion targets workers without children in the home. In 2022 it would provide a $12.4 billion boost, benefiting 19.5 million workers who on average would receive an income boost of $730 dollars.
  • Aidan Davis
    Aidan Davis
    State Policy Director
    June 28, 2021

    State-Level EITC Victories in 2021

    A growing group of state lawmakers are recognizing the extent to which low- and middle-income Americans are struggling and the ways in which their state and local tax systems can do more to ensure the economic security of their residents over the long run. To that end, lawmakers across the country have made strides in enacting, increasing, or expanding tax credits that benefit low- and middle-income families. Here is a summary of those changes and a celebration of those successes.

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