The 2021 expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) greatly increased the amount of financial support that families received from the credit and guaranteed the fully refundable benefit to all lower-income families with children, while continuing to pay half of the annual benefits monthly. Child poverty fell to its lowest level ever (5.2 percent) after the expansion but returned to its pre-pandemic level (12.4 percent) in 2022 upon the expansion’s elimination. Notwithstanding the fact that a number of research questions about the exact effects of the 2021 expansion are yet to be answered, the articles in this volume present a strong case for a continued economic and social investment in the form of a longer-term child allowance. This summary discusses a number of key design issues for policies that aim to reduce child poverty, and I argue for research that can further substantiate the effects of a fully refundable CTC.
AhmadHalahLandryJack. 2023. Cash at the state level: Guaranteed income through the Child Tax Credit. New York, NY: Jain Family Institute. Available from jainfamilyinstitute.org.
2.
AliAbdinasir K.LyuWeiWehbyGeorge L.2024. The effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on mental health of home renters and homeowners. Mental Health & Prevention34: 200341.
3.
BastianJacob. 2024. How would a permanent 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion affect poverty and employment?National Tax Journal77(2): 263–311.
4.
BonnetteKathleen. 2November2023. Permanently expand the child tax credit. It’s the pro-life thing to do. America, the Jesuit Review. Available from www.americamagazine.org.
5.
BurnsKaleeCreamerJohn. 12September2023. Poverty measure that includes government assistance increased to 12.4% in 2022, when pandemic relief ended. Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau. Available from www.census.gov.
6.
CarlsonMarcia J.WimerChristopherHaskinsRon. 2022. Changing work, changing families, and public policies toward low-income families. RSF: Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences8(5): 1–22.
7.
ClausingKimberly A.SarinNatasha. 2023. The coming fiscal cliff: A blueprint for tax reform in 2025. Washington, DC: The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution. Available from www.brookings.edu.
8.
CollyerSophieCurranMegan A.GarfinkelIrwinHarrisDavidParolinZacharyWaldfogelJaneWimerChristopher. 2023. The Child Tax Credit and family well-being: An overview of reforms and impacts. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science706: 224–255.
9.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO). 2024. At a glance: H.R. 7024, Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. Washington, DC: Congressional Budget Office. Available from www.cbo.gov.
10.
CorinthKevinMeyerBruce D.StadnickiMatthewWuDerek. 2021. The anti-poverty, targeting, and labor supply effects of the proposed Child Tax Credit expansion. Becker Friedman Institute Working Paper 2021-115, Chicago, IL.
11.
CorinthKevinWinshipChristopher. 31January2024. The Wyden-Smith Child Tax Credit and work: Responding to critics. Washington, DC: Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility, American Enterprise Institute. Available from www.aei.org.
12.
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). 2023. The anti-poverty and income-boosting impacts of the enhanced CTC. Washington, DC: The White House. Available from www.whitehouse.gov.
13.
CoxKrisMarrChuckCalameSarahHingtgenStephanieFentonGeorgeShermanArloc. 2024. About 16 million children in low-income families would gain in first year of bipartisan Child Tax Credit Expansion: Half a million or more children would be lifted above the poverty line when fully in effect. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available from www.cbpp.org.
14.
Crandall-HollickMargot L.2021. The impact of a “fully refundable” Child Tax Credit. Congressional Research Service Report IN11752. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Available from crsreports.congress.gov.
15.
DavisAidanButkusNeva. 2023. States are boosting economic security with child tax credits in 2023. Washington, DC: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Available from itep.org.
16.
FanoArianna. 15December2023. Barriers to tax credit education and take-up among immigrant communities. Washington, DC: Bipartisan Policy Center. Available from bipartisanpolicy.org.
17.
GarfinkelIrwinSariscsanyLaurelAnanatElizabethCollyerSophieHartleyRobert P.WangBuyiWimerChristopher. 2022. The benefits and costs of a child allowance. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis13(3): 335–362.
18.
GonzalezDulceMaagElaineKarpmanMichael. 2024. In the absence of the expanded Child Tax Credit, many families with children faced material hardship in 2022. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available from www.urban.org.
19.
GuggenheimBenjamin. 14November2023. Conservative heavyweights call on Congress to expand Child Tax Credit. POLITICO Pro. Available from subscriber.politicopro.com.
20.
Halpern-MeekinSarahGennetianLisa A.HoitingJillStilwellLauraMeyerLauren. 2024. Monthly unconditional income supplements starting at birth: Experiences among mothers of young children with low incomes in the U.S. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management43(3): 871–898.
21.
HanJeehoonMeyerBruce D.SullivanJames X.2022. Real-time poverty, material well-being, and the Child Tax Credit. National Tax Journal75(4): 817–846.
22.
HerdPamelaMoynihanDonald P.2018. Administrative burden: Policymaking by other means. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
23.
HerdPamelaMoynihanDon. 31January2024. Fewer burdens but greater inequality? The implications of moving more of the safety net through the tax system. Can We Still Govern? Available from donmoynihan.substack.com.
24.
JacksonMargot I.MoffittSusan L.LoebSusanna. 2023. Overlapping public investments in child well-being: A reconsideration of the social safety net. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science706(1): 7–13.
25.
KearneyMelissa S.PardueLuke. 2023. The economic case for smart investing in America’s youth. In Building a more resilient US economy, eds. KearneyMelissa S.SchardinJustinPardueLuke, 171–193. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
26.
LandersPatrick A.Crandall-HollickMargot L.2021. Child tax benefits and children with complex or dynamic living arrangements. Congressional Research Service Report IN11634: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Available from crsreports.congress.gov.
27.
LandryJack. 2023. The impact of families with no income on an expanded credit. New York, NY: Jain Family Institute. Available from jainfamilyinstitute.org.
28.
L’EsperanceMadelaineGroomsJevayOhannessianShogherSmeedingTimothy. 2023. Social Security Administration’s growing interest in the Child Tax Credit and other child driven income support programs. Madison, WI: Retirement & Disability Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison. Available from minds.wisconsin.edu.
29.
L’EsperanceMadelaineGroomsJevaySmeedingTimothy M.2024. Patterns of advance Child Tax Credit receipt and spending among children with retired and/or disabled household members. Social Service Review98(1): 93–138.
30.
LouCaryHahnHeatherMaagElaineDalyHannahCasasMichelleSteuerleC. Eugene. 2023. Kids’ Share 2023: Report on federal expenditures on children through 2022 and future projections. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available from www.urban.org.
31.
MaagElaineLouCaryCasasMichelleDalyHannahGarrigaGabriellaHunterLillian. 2023. The return on investing in children: Helping children thrive. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available from www.taxpolicycenter.org.
32.
McCannNicoleDeanLorraine T.Bovell-AmmonAllisonde CubaStephanie EttingerGreenTiffanyShaferPaul R.RaifmanJulia. 2024. Association between Child Tax Credit advance payments and food insufficiency in households experiencing economic shocks. Health Affairs Scholar2(2): qxae011.
33.
MillerClaire CainParlapianoAlicia. 11May2023. The U.S. built a European-style welfare state. It’s largely over. New York Times.
34.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). 2019. A roadmap to reducing child poverty, eds. DuncanGregMenestrelSuzanne Le. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
35.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). 2024. Child Tax Credit overview. Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures. Available from www.ncsl.org.
36.
ODI and UNICEF. 2020. Universal child benefits: Policy issues and options. New York, NY/London: UNICEF/ODI. Available from www.unicef.org.
37.
ParolinZacharyCurranMeganMatsudairaJordanWaldfogelJaneWimerChristopher. 2020. Estimating monthly poverty rates in the United States. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management41(4): 1177–1203.
38.
ParolinZacharyFilauroStefano. 2023. The United States’ record-low child poverty rate in international and historical perspective. Demography60(6): 1665–1673.
39.
SchanzenbachDiane WhitmoreStrainMichael R.2023. Employment and labor supply responses to the Child Tax Credit expansion: Theory and evidence. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science710: 141–156.
40.
Tax Policy Center. 25October2022. Table T21-0124 – Tax expenditure for the Child Tax Credit ($ billions), 2022–25. Washington, DC: Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute/Brookings Institution. Available from www.taxpolicycenter.org.
41.
Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. 2024. H.R.7024, 118th Cong.
42.
UnrathMatthew.2024. Married. . . with children? Assessing alignment between tax units and survey households. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, 5–7 January 2024. San Antonio, TX.
43.
U.S. Department of the Treasury. 2024. Tax expenditures FY2024 update [Excel sheet]. In Tax expenditures [archive online]. Washington, DC: United States Department of the Treasury. Available from home.treasury.gov.
44.
WilsonDanielleCollyerSophieHardyBradleyWimerChristopher. 23October2023. State-level poverty impacts of the Child Tax Credit in 2021. New York, NY: Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University. Available from www.povertycenter.columbia.edu.
45.
WimerChristopherAnanatElizabethHarrisDavidKoutavasAnastasiaRichardsonDominicVinhRyan. 2023. Starting sooner: Should cash payments begin during pregnancy?Poverty and Social Policy Brief7(6). Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. Available from www.povertycenter.columbia.edu.
