Child Tax Credit
Millions of Citizen Children Would be Harmed by Proposal Billed as Targeting Immigrant Tax Filers
April 24, 2025 • By Emma Sifre, Joe Hughes
Congressional Republicans have floated a proposal to strip the Child Tax Credit from millions of children who are U.S. citizens and legal residents in situations where their parents do not have Social Security numbers. Approximately 4.5 million citizen children with Social Security numbers would lose access to the credit under this proposal.
State Tax Policy Should Adopt the Principles of ‘Black Women Best’
November 20, 2024 • By Brakeyshia Samms
Focusing policy analysis on Black women illustrates how Black women have long shouldered the shortcomings of the economy and clearly points to solutions that work for all. Black women are at their best when they are financially secure, healthy, and free – and our economy is at its best when all people can thrive and benefit.
State Child Tax Credits Boosted Financial Security for Families and Children in 2024
September 12, 2024 • By Neva Butkus
Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. This year alone, lawmakers in three states – Colorado, New York, and Utah – expanded their Child Tax Credits while lawmakers in the District of Columbia created a new credit that will take effect in 2025.
Expanded Child Tax Credit is Key to Reducing Child Poverty, New Census Data Illustrate
September 10, 2024 • By Jon Whiten
From 2021-2023, child poverty has more than doubled from 5.2 to 13.7 percent. The latest Census data make clear that lawmakers have the tools to help millions of children and their families – and it’s beyond time they take action.
Which States Improved Child Tax Credits and EITCs in 2024?
July 25, 2024 • By Neva Butkus
Four states expanded or boosted refundable tax credits for children and families, and the District of Columbia is poised to create a new Child Tax Credit. These actions — in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Utah, and D.C. — continue the recent trend of improving the well-being of children and families with refundable tax credits.
Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive
July 17, 2024 • By Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman
Undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes but don't have a valid Social Security number for either themselves or their children are excluded from federal EITC and CTC benefits. Fortunately, several states have stepped in to ensure undocumented immigrants are not left behind by the gaps in the federal EITC and CTC. State lawmakers should continue to ensure that immigrants who are otherwise eligible for these tax credits receive them.
Our Taxes Can Set Kids Up for Success
March 26, 2024 • By Brakeyshia Samms
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in society – and tax policy has a huge role to play in making that happen. Better tax policy can help prepare our young children with skills to become successful and thriving adults.
Impacts of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act
February 2, 2024 • By Joe Hughes, Steve Wamhoff
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act passed by the House of Representatives on January 31 is a compromise between lawmakers who want to address child poverty and lawmakers who want to expand the Trump tax cuts for corporations and therefore includes provisions that do both. It also offsets the costs of those […]
Fatherly: What the New Child Tax Credit Would — and Wouldn’t — Do for Families
January 29, 2024
Various efforts have been made to revive the 2021 tax credit, which was wildly popular and is considered the “gold standard,” to CTC advocates, according to Joe Hughes, a Federal Policy Analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. It’s also popular across party lines: A poll from Zero to Three and Morning Consult found that 85% of respondents want Congress to reinstate the 2021 CTC — 94% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans. But no effort in that direction has yet been successful.
Three Things to Know This Tax Filing Season
January 26, 2024 • By Joe Hughes
The IRS Direct File pilot is currently open to eligible taxpayers here. Millions of American families have now received their W-2s for 2023, signaling the start to a new tax filing season. The IRS has set January 29 as the first date that people can file their tax returns for the previous year, and the […]
Proposed Tax Deal Would Help Millions of Kids with Child Tax Credit Expansion While Extending Damaging Corporate Tax Breaks
January 16, 2024 • By Joe Hughes
On January 16, Congressional tax writers officially announced the details of a tax policy agreement. The deal includes expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to improve access for low- and middle-income families as well as expansions of the 2017 Trump tax cuts for businesses. The agreement also includes bipartisan tax priorities tax provisions for […]
Abortion-Restricting States Skimp on Funding for Children
November 9, 2023 • By Amy Hanauer
States differ dramatically in how much they allow families to make choices about whether and when to have children and how much support they provide when families do. But there is a clear pattern: the states that compel childbirth spend less to help children once they are born.
Year-End Tax Package Must Prioritize Children and Families Over Corporations and Private Equity
November 8, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
While Congress considers extending expired tax provisions, it should first and foremost focus on expanding the Child Tax Credit, a policy with a proven track record of helping families and children.
State Tax Credits Have Transformative Power to Improve Economic Security
September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis
The latest analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau provides an important reminder of the compelling link between public investments and families’ economic well-being. Policy decisions can drastically reduce poverty and improve family economic stability for low- and middle-income families alike, as today’s data release shows.
States are Boosting Economic Security with Child Tax Credits in 2023
September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus
Fourteen states now provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. This year alone, lawmakers in three states created new Child Tax Credits while lawmakers in seven states expanded existing credits. To maximize impact, lawmakers should consider making their credits fully refundable, not including an earnings requirement, setting a maximum amount per child instead of per household, setting state-specific phase-out ranges that target low- and middle-income families, indexing to inflation, and offering the option of advanced payments.
Lapse of Expanded Child Tax Credit Led to Unprecedented Rise in Child Poverty
September 12, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
The new Census data should provide both concern and optimism for lawmakers. The steep rise in child poverty is an inexcusable tragedy. But it shows that child poverty is avoidable when Congress makes the decision to make tax policy for those who need the hand up rather than for the rich and powerful.
Boosting Incomes, Improving Equity: State Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023
September 12, 2023 • By Aidan Davis, Neva Butkus
Nearly two-thirds of states (31 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have an Earned Income Tax Credit, an effective tool that boosts low-paid workers’ incomes and helps lower-income families achieve greater economic security. This year, 12 states expanded and improved EITCs.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Advance Racial Equity in the Tax Code
August 29, 2023 • By Emma Sifre, Joe Hughes
Expanding the federal Child Tax Credit to 2021 levels would help nearly 60 million children next year. It would help the lowest-income children the most and would particularly help children and families of color.
Refundable Credits a Winning Policy Choice Again in 2023
July 7, 2023 • By Neva Butkus
State lawmakers continue to make groundbreaking progress on state tax credits, with 17 states creating or enhancing Child Tax Credits or Earned Income Tax Credits so far this year. These policies have the potential to boost family economic security and dramatically reduce the number of children living below the poverty line.
State Action on Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits in 2023
June 28, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
In 2023 so far, 17 states have either adopted or expanded a Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit. Both these policies can help bolster the economic security of low- and middle-income families and position the next generation for success.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Help Nearly 60 Million Kids, Especially Those in Families with Low Incomes
June 13, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
Restoring the federal Child Tax Credit to 2021 levels would benefit nearly 60 million children. Three-quarters of the benefit would go to families in the bottom three quintiles, consisting of households with less than $86,600 in income.
ITEP Statement: American Family Act Prioritizes Tax Credits for Low- and Middle-Income Families
June 7, 2023 • By ITEP Staff
Restoring the more robust CTC should be a top priority of all lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. But unfortunately, this bill stands in stark contrast to other tax bills taking shape that would deeply cut taxes for profitable corporations and wealthy families.
Minnesota Lawmakers Re-Envision State Tax System to Center Equity
May 3, 2023 • By Neva Butkus
Minnesota’s House, Senate and Governor’s office have each proposed their own vision as to how the state should maximize its $17.5 billion surplus and raise new revenue, and these tax plans make one thing clear: Minnesota lawmakers are serious about using tax policy to advance tax equity and improve the lives of Minnesotans.
Why is My Refund So Much Smaller This Year? Only the Good (Tax Credits) Die Young.
April 18, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
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.
Effects of President Biden’s Proposal to Expand the Child Tax Credit
March 16, 2023 • By Joe Hughes
In his latest budget proposal, President Biden proposes enhancing the Child Tax Credit (CTC) based on the temporary credit that was in effect for 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. In this report we analyze how that proposal would help children and families.
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