The Census Bureau estimates that there are 63.1 million families in America with children under the age of 18 who are living at home. As of July 15, more than half of those families are going to receive monthly cash payments under the Democrats' American Rescue Plan. That's the critical $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill which passed back in March.
Which received zero Republican votes.
Let's revisit what this means: Parents who qualify and who have children under age 6 will get $300 automatically, straight into their back accounts for every child under age 6 each month. Parents with children over age 6 will get $250 per child, every month. How do you qualify? Earn less than $95,000 annually as an individual, or $170,000 as a couple filing jointly. Parents earning between $75,000-95,000/$150,000-170,000, will still get checks, but smaller ones.
This is the regular child tax credit, bumped up from the regular $2,000 to $3,600 per child annual credit for children under age 6 and $3,000 for older kids. It's also a monthly payment, instead of the end-of-year lump sum, providing stability for millions of families. It will also give them some additional disposable income to help the economy rebound. It could allow more people to enter the workforce, making childcare easier to afford. This means the families of more than 65 million children—88% of all the kids in the country—will start seeing their prospects improve by mid-summer.
That includes families living in poverty, even those who make too little to even files taxes. About 80% of the families will get the payments directly into their bank accounts through direct deposit. Some will get debit cards similar to the cards they receive food assistance on, and some will get paper checks. This expansion will provide assistance to tens of millions of low-income families who were previously too poor to receive it in full.
It will cut child poverty nearly in half—this year.
The payments will be based on 2020 tax returns or 2019 returns if last year’s returns either haven’t been filed or not been processed yet. Since the year will be half over when the checks start, rather than sending larger lump sums to provide an entire year's relief, families will be able to claim the other half of the credit when they file their 2021 tax return. The only problem is that it's only for one year.
The White House and congressional Democrats want to make this and other provisions of the rescue plan permanent. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in particular, has focused on this, saying back in March that "I'll do everything I can to make it permanent. […] That's one of the most important things we can do. We can change America, if we make them permanent."
Biden has included the beefed-up credit in his American Families Plan, the companion infrastructure bill, but only extends it through 2025. The length of the program is one issue, but so is the fact that it's based on existing tax credits which discriminate against single parents. Democratic Rep. Katie Porter pointed that out in the negotiations on the Rescue Plan, which she voted for.
The phaseouts for the tax credit are the problem. As Porter explained, "The original drafters believed that since single parents have one fewer adult in the home, they need less to make ends meet." Except that's not really how it works, she points out. "Raising a child costs the same whether you're married or single." That means providing child care or after school programs, and of course a safe place to live as well as nutritious food. "In fact," Porter continues, "single parents must secure child care to work outside the home, which sometimes is unnecessary for married couples."
She's not arguing against income limits in determining which families should get the credits, but to have the same income threshold for all households. "There is no discount in the costs and economic hardships of raising a child for single parents or guardians," Porter says. "Failing to treat tax filers equally hurts hundreds of thousands of children in single-parent families." If this is going to become permanent, it needs to be fixed.
It also needs to become permanent. In the meantime, however, it's damned smart politics.
Which received zero Republican votes.
Let's revisit what this means: Parents who qualify and who have children under age 6 will get $300 automatically, straight into their back accounts for every child under age 6 each month. Parents with children over age 6 will get $250 per child, every month. How do you qualify? Earn less than $95,000 annually as an individual, or $170,000 as a couple filing jointly. Parents earning between $75,000-95,000/$150,000-170,000, will still get checks, but smaller ones.
This is the regular child tax credit, bumped up from the regular $2,000 to $3,600 per child annual credit for children under age 6 and $3,000 for older kids. It's also a monthly payment, instead of the end-of-year lump sum, providing stability for millions of families. It will also give them some additional disposable income to help the economy rebound. It could allow more people to enter the workforce, making childcare easier to afford. This means the families of more than 65 million children—88% of all the kids in the country—will start seeing their prospects improve by mid-summer.
That includes families living in poverty, even those who make too little to even files taxes. About 80% of the families will get the payments directly into their bank accounts through direct deposit. Some will get debit cards similar to the cards they receive food assistance on, and some will get paper checks. This expansion will provide assistance to tens of millions of low-income families who were previously too poor to receive it in full.
It will cut child poverty nearly in half—this year.
The payments will be based on 2020 tax returns or 2019 returns if last year’s returns either haven’t been filed or not been processed yet. Since the year will be half over when the checks start, rather than sending larger lump sums to provide an entire year's relief, families will be able to claim the other half of the credit when they file their 2021 tax return. The only problem is that it's only for one year.
The White House and congressional Democrats want to make this and other provisions of the rescue plan permanent. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in particular, has focused on this, saying back in March that "I'll do everything I can to make it permanent. […] That's one of the most important things we can do. We can change America, if we make them permanent."
Biden has included the beefed-up credit in his American Families Plan, the companion infrastructure bill, but only extends it through 2025. The length of the program is one issue, but so is the fact that it's based on existing tax credits which discriminate against single parents. Democratic Rep. Katie Porter pointed that out in the negotiations on the Rescue Plan, which she voted for.
The phaseouts for the tax credit are the problem. As Porter explained, "The original drafters believed that since single parents have one fewer adult in the home, they need less to make ends meet." Except that's not really how it works, she points out. "Raising a child costs the same whether you're married or single." That means providing child care or after school programs, and of course a safe place to live as well as nutritious food. "In fact," Porter continues, "single parents must secure child care to work outside the home, which sometimes is unnecessary for married couples."
She's not arguing against income limits in determining which families should get the credits, but to have the same income threshold for all households. "There is no discount in the costs and economic hardships of raising a child for single parents or guardians," Porter says. "Failing to treat tax filers equally hurts hundreds of thousands of children in single-parent families." If this is going to become permanent, it needs to be fixed.
It also needs to become permanent. In the meantime, however, it's damned smart politics.