Antipoverty Effects of Washington DC CTC/EITC Expansions

This memo presents estimates of the antipoverty impacts associated with the recent expansion to the Washington D.C. Child Tax Credit (DC CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC), as well as two additional options for expanding the DC CTC. The most recent legislation passed by the Council of the District of Columbia (and subject to mayoral approval) would take effect in tax year 20251 and would:

• Establish a DC CTC that provides a maximum credit of $1,000 per dependent child under the age of 18 and begins to phase out at a rate of 5% for joint filers with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) exceeding $70,000 and for single/head of household filers with AGIs exceeding $55,000.2 The DC CTC is also fully refundable and does not have earnings requirements.
• Expand the DC EITC from an 85% to a full 100% match of the federal EITC for filers with children, and remain at a 100% match for filers without children.
   

In addition to modeling the impacts of this new legislation on child poverty, we also model two additional expansions to the DC CTC, both of which retain the same phaseout structure, but increase the maximum credit:

• Option 1: Increase the maximum credit to $1,500 per child under age 18
• Option 2: Increase the maximum credit to $2,000 per child under age 18 

Suggested Citation:

Center on Poverty and Social Policy. 2025. Antipoverty effects of Washington DC CTC and EITC expansions. Policy Memo. New York: Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University.

Published on Feb 03, 2026