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John,
Under the current Child Tax Credit (CTC), 19 million children do not receive the full tax credit or receive no tax credit at all. This includes nearly half of Black children, 4 in 10 Indigenous children, and 1 in 3 Latino children.1
Right now, Congress is negotiating an expanded Child Tax Credit which would ensure that a bigger tax credit reaches 80% of those 19 million children―and it would lift 400,000 children out of poverty.
While this new version of the expanded Child Tax Credit is not perfect―still leaving out families with no income―it is our best opportunity to address child poverty at a time when the right-wing is attempting to cut critical programs from nutrition assistance to housing assistance. We can build on this year’s temporary improvements to secure tax policies that will dramatically and permanently reduce child poverty over the long term.
With a potential window to attach a tax package to larger legislation next week, donate today to power our lobbying efforts to make sure it passes, while demanding Congress continue to improve the expanded CTC and ensure the full tax credit reaches millions more children.
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:
Under the current CTC, a family earning $400,000 gets a higher tax credit than a family with 2 children earning just $15,000. This new proposal would increase the CTC for the 2-child, $15,000 family from $1,875 to $3,600, rightly prioritizing getting more help to children who do not currently get the full tax credit. In 2025, this low-income family would get the same CTC amount as the wealthier family ($2,000 per child, adjusted in that year for inflation).2
This deal is not perfect, but it is a critical step forward in helping low-income families with children.
Thank you for powering our lobbying efforts at a time of increased need for children and families.
Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, Coalition on Human Needs
1 Any Year-End Tax Legislation Should Expand Child Tax Credit to Cut Child Poverty
2 Reported Proposal to Expand Child Tax Credit Would Lift as Many as 400,000 Children Above the Poverty Line
-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --
John,
House and Senate negotiators are reportedly close to reaching a deal on expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Right now, 19 million children in low-income families either receive a partial tax credit, or no credit at all. If passed, this new bill would make a bigger Child Tax Credit available to millions more families, lifting 400,000 children out of poverty, and strengthening families’ incomes at a time of extreme food and housing insecurity.
The current CTC wrongly provides higher benefits to a family earning $400,000 per year than families earning $15,000. This bill would fix that, and would nearly double the tax credit for families with more than one child.
It would apply retroactively to 2023, so families filing their taxes this spring would receive the expanded CTC, and it would be tied to inflation starting in 2025, increasing the benefit for low-income families and helping them to keep up with rising costs.
This proposal is not perfect. But it is absolutely our best chance to reduce child poverty this year―at a time when the right-wing is attempting to cut programs and services instead of investing in low-income families. We will build on this year’s temporary improvements to secure tax policies that will dramatically and permanently reduce child poverty over the long term.
We’ve already sent more than 75,000 letters to Congress demanding they pass an expanded CTC immediately. We need to keep the pressure on to ensure that expanding the CTC is a top priority for Congress this coming week.
Donate today to power our lobbying efforts demanding Congress expand the Child Tax Credit and bring the full credit to millions of low-income families.
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:
Expanding the Child Tax Credit is one of our highest priorities as we work to address child poverty and racial disparities. Your support fuels that work.
Thank you for all that you do,
Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
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