New estimates of the total number of people and children in immigrant families who could lose eligibility for the refundable portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service proposed a new rule that would further restrict eligibility for the refundable portions of four tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), based on citizenship and immigration status. The rule would affect primarily lawfully present immigrants authorized to work in the United States and their family members, including their children, the vast majority of whom are U.S. citizens.

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Key Findings

  • Approximately 671,000 people, including 309,000 children, live in families that could lose eligibility for the EITC.
     
  • Approximately 1,125,000 people, including 574,000 children, live in families that could lose eligibility for Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), the refundable portion of the federal CTC.
     
  • Approximately 566,000 people, including 285,000 children, live in families that could lose eligibility for both the EITC and the ACTC.
     
  • The vast majority of children who would lose eligibility are U.S. citizens: Nearly 9 in 10 children losing eligibility for either or both credits are U.S. citizens.

This report is first in series from the newly launched Research to Action Hub for Children in Immigrant Families, a collaboration among three research institutes—Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development (IECOHD) at Boston University, Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP) at Columbia University, and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

About the Research to Action Hub for Children in Immigrant Families

The Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development (IECOHD) at Boston University, Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP) at Columbia University and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) have come together to form the Research to Action Hub for Children in Immigrant Families, a one-stop, trusted source of data and analysis on children in immigrant families. The Hub produces rigorous and reliable indicators and analysis of the socioeconomic wellbeing of children in immigrant families, as well as estimates of how actual and proposed policy changes affect them.

Suggested Citation:

Wilson, Danielle, Emma Sifre, Elizabeth Wong, Pamela Joshi, Megan Curran, Christopher Wimer, and Dolores Acevedo-Garcia. 2026. New estimates of the total number of people and children in immigrant families who could lose eligibility for the refundable portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. Children in Immigrant Families Policy Brief. Research to Action Hub for Children in Immigrant Families. Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development, Boston University; Center on Poverty and Social, Columbia University; Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Published October 01, 2026