Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On
The American Rescue Plan significantly expanded the 2021 Child Tax Credit, increasing benefit levels and making more than 90 percent of children nationwide eligible—almost all but those in the highest earning families. A continuous stream of research has tracked its impact, as well as its later expiration. A challenge has been how best to understand this regularly evolving evidence base.
This research roundup is an update to the original Child Tax Credit research roundup of what we knew after six months, published in December 2021. It compiles what we now know as of early November 2022—more than one year on from the introduction of the expanded Child Tax Credit and close to one year from the last monthly payment. It reviews the wide range of available information on families’ access and receipt of the payments, how families used them, how the payments impacted their lives, and what happened when the payments ended in 2022.
Evidence is now reviewed across nine central themes: access; income; poverty; spending; food; financial hardship; differences by payment type (e.g., monthly vs. lump-sum); employment; and equity.
The weight of the evidence is clear: while in place, the expanded Child Tax Credit reached the vast majority of families; shored up family finances amidst the COVID-19 and economic crisis; helped reduced child poverty to the lowest level on record; decreased food insufficiency; increased families’ ability to meet their basic needs; and had no discernable negative effects on parental employment.
Since its expiration, however, many families with children have seen a reversal of fortune directly attributable to the loss of the credit—including lower disposable income and increased poverty, food hardship, and financial strain. The expiration of the expanded Child Tax Credit has posed an ongoing challenge for families nationwide.
This is an update to the original Child Tax Credit research roundup, published in December 2021, that documented what we knew from research available after the first six months. We invite researchers to share additional sources for incorporation into future updates.
Suggested Citation:
Megan A. Curran. 2022. “Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On.” Poverty and Social Policy Report, vol. 6, no. 9. Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2022/child-tax-credit/research-roundup-one-year-on