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The Consequences of the 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion: An Introduction to the Volume

Author

Listed:
  • Megan Curran
  • Hilary Hoynes
  • Zachary Parolin

Abstract

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily transformed the Child Tax Credit (CTC) into a more generous cash benefit that was more frequently distributed to families with children in the U.S. From July to December 2021, the families of more than 90 percent of U.S. children received monthly cash payments of up to $250 per child (or $300 per young child under six); and at tax time in 2022, families received lump-sum tax refunds of up to $1,500 per child (or $1,800 per young child). Many of these families had not previously had access to the full credit because their incomes were too low. The temporary expansion was not made permanent, and the CTC returned to its pre-expansion structure in 2022. This volume evaluates the effects of the 2021 CTC expansion, and this introduction provides broad context around the expansion, elaborates on the goals for the volume, and previews the volume’s subsequent contributions.

Suggested Citation

  • Megan Curran & Hilary Hoynes & Zachary Parolin, 2023. "The Consequences of the 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion: An Introduction to the Volume," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 710(1), pages 8-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:710:y:2023:i:1:p:8-18
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162241272327
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    1. repec:bin:bpeajo:v:49:y:2019:i:2018-01:p:89-150 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Zachary Parolin & Giulia Giupponi & Emma K. Lee & Sophie Collyer, 2024. "Consumption responses to an unconditional child allowance in the United States," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(4), pages 657-667, April.
    3. Parolin, Zachary & Filauro, Stefano, 2022. "The United States’ Record-Low Child Poverty Rate in International and Historical Perspective," OSF Preprints su2fm, Center for Open Science.
    4. Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2018. "Safety Nets Investments in Children," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(1 (Spring), pages 89-150.
    5. Jacob Goldin & Katherine Michelmore, 2022. "Who Benefits from the Child Tax Credit?," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(1), pages 123-147.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zachary Parolin, 2025. "Targeted Child Tax Credit: An affordable option for state governments to reduce child poverty rates," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 1472-1482, September.

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