Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit

The American Rescue Plan significantly, but temporarily, expanded the federal Child Tax Credit in 2021. This series of research roundups compile the publicly available information on what is known about the impacts while the policy expansion was in place and what happened after it expired. 

From the start, a continuous stream of research has tracked the impact of this policy change on the lives of children and their families. A challenge has been how best to understand this regularly evolving evidence base.

The research roundups here indicate that the weight of the evidence is clear: while in place, the expanded Child Tax Credit reached the vast majority of families; shored up family finances amidst the COVID-19 and economic crisis; helped reduce child poverty to the lowest level on record; decreased food insufficiency; increased families’ ability to meet their basic needs; and had no discernable negative effects on parental employment.

Upon its expiration, many families with children saw a reversal of fortune directly attributable to the loss of the credit—including lower disposable income and increased poverty, food hardship, and financial strain. 

 

Publications

Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On (released Nov 2022, this is the latest update of the Child Tax Credit research roundup)

Suggested Citation:

Megan A. Curran. 2022. Research roundup of the expanded Child Tax Credit: One year on. Poverty and Social Policy Report, vol. 6, no. 9. New York: Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University.

Suggested Citation:

Curran, Megan A. 2021. Research roundup of the expanded Child Tax Credit: the first six months. Poverty and Social Policy Report, vol. 5, no. 5. New York: Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University.

We invite researchers to share additional sources for future updates.

Visit the Child Tax Credit research page View Publications