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Race, Marriage, and the Earned Income Tax Credit

Author

Listed:
  • J. Sebastian Leguizamon

    (Western Kentucky University)

  • Susane Leguizamon

    (Western Kentucky University)

  • James Alm

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

It is increasingly recognized that race interacts in important ways with taxation, including taxation of the family. In this paper, we quantify the racial disparity in the magnitude of the "marriage penalty" or "marriage bonus" in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) using individual micro-level data from the Current Population Survey from 1992 to 2019. We find that among households experiencing a penalty, low-income Black households' is, on average, 22 percent larger than that for low-income white households, even when their family income levels are largely the same. These racial inequities are troubling, given the impact of this program on low-income individuals across the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Sebastian Leguizamon & Susane Leguizamon & James Alm, 2025. "Race, Marriage, and the Earned Income Tax Credit," Working Papers 2506, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:2506
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    File URL: http://repec.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul2506.pdf
    File Function: First Version, November 2025
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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