The 2021 Child Tax Credit: Who Received It and How Did They Spend It?
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 413-19)
Abstract
In March of 2021, Congress passed a one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), creating a temporary, near-universal child benefit. Despite expanding eligibility to millions of previously ineligible children living in low-income households, only two-thirds received the monthly benefit. We illustrate that some historic gaps in receipt of the CTC remain despite the efforts to make the credit more universal: prior tax filing, household income, and survey language were among the strongest predictors of monthly receipt. More work is needed to understand why families did not receive the CTC and how to reach these vulnerable populations.Citation
Michelmore, Katherine, and Natasha V. Pilkauskas. 2023. "The 2021 Child Tax Credit: Who Received It and How Did They Spend It?" AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 413-19. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231089Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- H24 Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
- H31 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth