Tax credits give income boost, but regular monthly cash payments would reduce poverty year round

The tax filing season is an important one for many families as it provides meaningful boosts to family income. The provision of refundable tax credits to millions of families across the United States resulted in a substantial, but temporary, dip in monthly poverty rates across population groups. We find that the overall monthly poverty rate fell from 14.4% in February 2022 to 10.8% in March 2022. For children, the monthly poverty rate fell from 16.7% in February 2022 to 9.9% in March 2022.

Read: The EITC and CTC Give Temporary Income Boost to Low-Income Families

In other recent work, taking the expanded Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan and the existing Earned Income Tax Credit as examples, we also find that delivering cash payments monthly has the power to smooth within-year volatility in incomes and reduce child poverty year round.

Read: Monthly Cash Payments Reduce Spells of Poverty Across the Year