To Tackle Poverty, More States Will Offer Bigger Child Tax Credits in 2024: NPR

- NPR, WBAA, Jan. 1, 2024. - Ed.

Many Americans took a double whammy to the pocketbook this year: Prices for things like food and rent rose, and federal pandemic aid continued to peter out. But a string of states took a cue from one of those relief measures — the expanded federal child tax credit — and are stepping in to help bridge the gap. That tax credit was a pandemic success story. Enacted in 2021, it cut child poverty in half before it expired at the end of that year, and poverty rates shot right back up.

Since then, the number of states that have created their own permanent child tax credit has doubled.

That's been a huge help for Ashley Andreas and her family in White River Junction, Vt. She and her partner were lucky enough to buy a house before prices skyrocketed, and both of them work. But it's still not easy with two kids and the high cost of child care. "It's health insurance, it's vehicles breaking down," Andreas says. The credit applies to children under 6, which includes Andreas' younger daughter. It was just in time. Andreas' partner got Lyme disease, which led to a slew of medical bills. And she says she was laid off this year; her new job is only part time.

States that already had child tax credits expanded them in 2023: Vermont is one of 14 states that now have a child tax credit — 10 of them either created or expanded the benefit in 2023. Eleven states offer the full credit to families with the lowest or even no income. Some state credits are available for immigrants, even those without legal status. Vermont made that change to help the migrant workers who are the backbone of its dairy industry. Other states peg the credit to inflation.

Kayla Kelechian is pleased that New York state just expanded its credit to include children under age 4. Her oldest child is 3, and she's expecting her second soon. The credit is small, only $330, and New York lawmakers are talking about expanding it again. State tax credits vary widely. Vermont offers the full amount to households making up to $125,000, with partial credit up to $175,000. And Minnesota sets a limit at households making less than $29,500 for single filers, or $35,000 for couples filing jointly. But its new credit is the country's largest: $1,750 for each child under 18.. Even in blue states, we're often seeing tax credits passing with bipartisan support," says Adam Ruben of the Economic Security Project...
https://www.wbaa.org/2024-01-01/to-tackle-poverty-more-states-will-offer-bigger-child-tax-credits-in-2024