{
  "id": "R41873",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "R",
  "number": "R41873",
  "active": true,
  "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: How It Works and Who Receives It",
      "retrieved": "2021-02-14T04:04:04.834685",
      "id": "R41873_25_2021-01-12",
      "formats": [
        {
          "filename": "files/2021-01-12_R41873_67b751d8a7832284d26fae2f5f256c50916cb8c0.pdf",
          "format": "PDF",
          "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41873/25",
          "sha1": "67b751d8a7832284d26fae2f5f256c50916cb8c0"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/2021-01-12_R41873_67b751d8a7832284d26fae2f5f256c50916cb8c0.html"
        }
      ],
      "date": "2021-01-12",
      "summary": null,
      "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov",
      "typeId": "R",
      "active": true,
      "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R41873",
      "type": "CRS Report"
    },
    {
      "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: How It Works and Who Receives It",
      "retrieved": "2021-02-14T04:04:04.833476",
      "id": "R41873_23_2020-11-17",
      "formats": [
        {
          "filename": "files/2020-11-17_R41873_cd1288a456bf1c3a96a8fec46a90f53caa805909.pdf",
          "format": "PDF",
          "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41873/23",
          "sha1": "cd1288a456bf1c3a96a8fec46a90f53caa805909"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/2020-11-17_R41873_cd1288a456bf1c3a96a8fec46a90f53caa805909.html"
        }
      ],
      "date": "2020-11-17",
      "summary": null,
      "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov",
      "typeId": "R",
      "active": true,
      "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R41873",
      "type": "CRS Report"
    },
    {
      "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: How It Works and Who Receives It",
      "retrieved": "2021-02-14T04:04:04.832791",
      "id": "R41873_22_2020-06-22",
      "formats": [
        {
          "filename": "files/2020-06-22_R41873_9f28d7b2eb23c3ded92a39fcb17c71f42b32c466.pdf",
          "format": "PDF",
          "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41873/22",
          "sha1": "9f28d7b2eb23c3ded92a39fcb17c71f42b32c466"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/2020-06-22_R41873_9f28d7b2eb23c3ded92a39fcb17c71f42b32c466.html"
        }
      ],
      "date": "2020-06-22",
      "summary": null,
      "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov",
      "typeId": "R",
      "active": true,
      "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R41873",
      "type": "CRS Report"
    },
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 584035,
      "date": "2018-05-15",
      "retrieved": "2018-08-27T15:14:39.598277",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: Current Law",
      "summary": "This report provides an overview of the child tax credit under current law, including temporary changes made by the 2017 tax revision (P.L. 115-97).\nWhen calculating the total amount of federal income taxes owed, eligible taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax liability by the amount of the child tax credit. Currently, eligible families that claim the child tax credit can subtract up to $2,000 per qualifying child from their federal income tax liability. The maximum amount of credit a family can receive is equal to the number of qualifying children in a family multiplied by $2,000. If a family\u2019s tax liability is less than the value of their child tax credit, they may be eligible for a refundable credit calculated using the earned income formula. Under this formula, a family is eligible for a refund equal to 15% of their earnings in excess of $2,500, up to the maximum amount of the refundable portion of the credit. The maximum amount of the refundable portion of the credit is $1,400 per qualifying child. The credit phases out for single parents with income over $200,000 and married couples with income over $400,000. Many of these parameters are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025 under P.L. 115-97.\nThe child tax credit was created in 1997 by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) to help ease the financial burden that families incur when they have children. Like other tax credits, the child tax credit reduces tax liability dollar for dollar of the value of the credit. Initially the child tax credit was a nonrefundable credit for most families. A nonrefundable tax credit can only reduce a taxpayer\u2019s income tax liability to zero, while a refundable tax credit can exceed a taxpayer\u2019s income tax liability, providing a cash payment to low-income taxpayers who owe little or no income tax. \nSince it was first enacted, the child tax credit has undergone significant changes. Most recently at the end of 2017, Congress expanded the credit, especially for middle- and upper-income taxpayers, by doubling the credit amount and more than tripling the income level at which the credit begins to phase out. Additional, although comparatively more modest, changes were made to the refundable portion of the credit as well, including increasing the refundable credit amount from $1,000 to $1,400 per child and lowering the refundability threshold from $3,000 to $2,500. These changes are scheduled to be in effect from 2018 through the end of 2025. \nEstimates from the IRS indicate that the total dollar amount of the child tax credit has increased significantly since enactment from approximately $22 billion to $54 billion. These estimates do not include the impact of recent legislative changes made by P.L. 115-97, which will, all else being equal, expand the total cost of this tax benefit. \nThe Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimated the distribution of the child tax credit by income level for 2018 under current law (including the changes made by P.L. 115-97) and found that the majority of child tax credit dollars will go to taxpayers with more than $75,000 of income, with nearly one-third of the benefit going to taxpayers with income between $100,000 and $200,000. In comparison, a relatively small share will go to very-low-income or very-high-income taxpayers. TPC also estimated that the vast majority of taxpayers with children will receive the child tax credit. About half of the lowest-income taxpayers will receive the credit and no taxpayers with children and income over $1 million will receive the credit. Finally, TPC estimated that taxpayers with income between $100,000 and $200,000 will on average receive the largest credit of over $3,000. Taxpayers with children and income under $20,000 will receive on average a credit of less than $1,000, while the wealthiest taxpayers with children will receive on average a credit of $10.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41873",
          "sha1": "20339c07b64adb06c107cc382eb7107fc8701cb9",
          "filename": "files/20180515_R41873_20339c07b64adb06c107cc382eb7107fc8701cb9.html",
          "images": {
            "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41873_files&id=/4.png": "files/20180515_R41873_images_0ba55b7bf935a0c107185d0003e916969fb67374.png",
            "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41873_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180515_R41873_images_5845b082fbf6eaf3fc50e43032de2fa0312be169.png",
            "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41873_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180515_R41873_images_6a7f212d4f3bd55017a4727187440b61c2c6e089.png",
            "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41873_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180515_R41873_images_15f455aba539fda41bf4778a35165399a7014d3c.png",
            "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41873_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180515_R41873_images_349c6b6a5e4ebe9900d24b3dac5bb6923c52bffa.png"
          }
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41873",
          "sha1": "66d6ec761336836ca3c174cef303a04676a64560",
          "filename": "files/20180515_R41873_66d6ec761336836ca3c174cef303a04676a64560.pdf",
          "images": {}
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4797,
          "name": "Cash Assistance"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4799,
          "name": "Individual Tax"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4824,
          "name": "Education, Family, & Housing Tax Policy"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 448888,
      "date": "2016-01-19",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:28:12.405085",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: Current Law and Legislative History",
      "summary": "This report provides an overview of the child tax credit under current law, as well as a legislative history of this tax benefit, which helps explain its purpose and current structure. \nWhen calculating the total amount of federal income taxes owed, eligible taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax liability by the amount of the child tax credit. Currently, eligible families that claim the child tax credit can subtract up to $1,000 per qualifying child from their federal income tax liability. The maximum amount of credit a family can receive is equal to the number of qualifying children in a family times $1,000. If a family\u2019s tax liability is less than the value of their child tax credit, they may be eligible for a refundable credit calculated using the earned income formula. Under this formula, a family is eligible for a refund equal to 15% of their earnings in excess of $3,000, up to the maximum amount of the credit. (This $3,000 amount is referred to as the \u201crefundability threshold.\u201d) The credit phases out for single parents with income over $75,000 and married couples with income over $110,000. \nThe child tax credit was created in 1997 by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-34) to help ease the financial burden that families incur when they have children. Like other tax credits, the child tax credit reduces tax liability dollar for dollar of the value of the credit. Initially the child tax credit was a nonrefundable credit for most families. A nonrefundable tax credit can only reduce a taxpayer\u2019s tax liability to zero, while a refundable tax credit can exceed a taxpayer\u2019s tax liability, providing a cash payment to low-income taxpayers who owe little or no tax. \nSince it was first enacted, the child tax credit has undergone significant changes, most notably as a result of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA; P.L. 107-16) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5), which increased the availability of the credit to many low-income families. Specifically EGTRRA doubled the value of the credit per child (from $500 to $1,000) and made the credit refundable for families with earnings over $10,000. ARRA lowered this refundability threshold from $10,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) to $3,000 (not adjusted for inflation). As a result of these changes, certain low-income taxpayers are currently eligible for the tax credit if their earnings are greater than $3,000. They receive 15 cents of credit for every dollar of earnings above $3,000 up to the maximum value of the credit\u2014$1,000 per child.\nThe changes made by EGTRRA and ARRA were extended through the end of 2012 by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-312). At the end of 2012, the EGTRRA changes to the child tax credit were made permanent, while the ARRA changes were extended for five years (through the end of 2017) as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (P.L. 112-240; ATRA). The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act (Division Q of P.L. 114-113) made the ARRA modification to the child tax credit permanent.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41873",
          "sha1": "8fc1456d11e49aa0ddd96d8846a0150e193460fe",
          "filename": "files/20160119_R41873_8fc1456d11e49aa0ddd96d8846a0150e193460fe.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41873",
          "sha1": "5ec541822a7241c2b99715d1097d22f155c3074f",
          "filename": "files/20160119_R41873_5ec541822a7241c2b99715d1097d22f155c3074f.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 350,
          "name": "Individual and Family Tax Policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4326,
          "name": "Benefits and Services for Low-Income Households"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462486/",
      "id": "R41873_2014Jul28",
      "date": "2014-07-28",
      "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: Current Law and Legislative History",
      "summary": "This report provides an overview of the child tax credit under current law, as well as a legislative history of this tax benefit, which helps explain its purpose and current structure.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20140728_R41873_10c80e8ee4d3eb9e090882af93cfba4d3985bf16.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20140728_R41873_10c80e8ee4d3eb9e090882af93cfba4d3985bf16.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Tax credits",
          "name": "Tax credits"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Tax cuts",
          "name": "Tax cuts"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Tax deductions",
          "name": "Tax deductions"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462091/",
      "id": "R41873_2014Jul17",
      "date": "2014-07-17",
      "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: Current Law and Legislative History",
      "summary": "This report provides an overview of the child tax credit under current law, as well as a legislative history of this tax benefit, which helps explain its purpose and current structure.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20140717_R41873_a790c3c826f1bb43fd8d4cf67dc1ebb5ab24480f.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20140717_R41873_a790c3c826f1bb43fd8d4cf67dc1ebb5ab24480f.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Tax credits",
          "name": "Tax credits"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Earned income tax credit",
          "name": "Earned income tax credit"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Children",
          "name": "Children"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806586/",
      "id": "R41873_2013Mar25",
      "date": "2013-03-25",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "The Child Tax Credit: Current Law and Legislative History",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20130325_R41873_939cecebcd195d963d1df3ebf2b9fff14b6afd95.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": []
}