Election Day 2024: Where Every Presidential Candidate Stands on the Child Tax Credit

being planned expand child tax credit It has become a major topic of discussion among both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., in recent years, and now these proposals are taking on a major new spotlight during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, first described her vision for tax cuts in a previously released economic policy plan. Democratic National ConventionIt promises a loan that pays much more to families with newborn babies. A key part of Harris’ plan is to restore the expanded child tax credit that was part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan. He expanded his goals during his debate with former President Donald Trump.

“I have a plan” Harris said during the discussion. “$6,000 for young families during the first year of your child’s life. To help you at this most critical stage of your child’s development.”

Harris again noted her plans for the loan in a major speech in Washington, D.C., a week before Election Day.

“I meet many young people who have a natural desire to parent their children well, but do not always have the resources to do so,” Harris said. “So I’m going to fight for a child tax credit to save them some money… which will also lift American children out of poverty.

But Trump and his vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance, expressed similar hopes for expanding the credit. A recent report from the New York Times sheds light on the disparity between their views and Harris’s.

Research shows that the credit’s temporary increase in 2021 had a significant impact on childhood poverty. Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy found that payments reduce monthly rates reducing child poverty by almost 30% and reaching payments to approximately 61 million children.

Read on to find out how much Harris hopes to increase the child tax credit and how that compares to ideas put forward by her Republican rivals. For more information on choosing, here’s how to do it See if you’re registered to vote And How to track official results in key states.

What is the child tax credit?

The child tax credit offers parents some tax relief for each child under 17 that they claim as a dependent. First introduced in 1997, the credit currently offers $2,000 per child, of which only $1,600 is refundable; This means you can get this amount even if you don’t owe that much tax. The remaining $400 is non-refundable, so it can only be used to reduce your tax burden.

in 2021 President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan was passed and significant increases in the child tax credit were achieved. Under the law, the credit is expanded to pay $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17. The loan was also fully refundable and partially payable as a monthly benefit.

What happens to the child tax credit after 2021?

After 2021, Congress did not renew the temporary tax credit and the child tax credit returned to previous levels and It is planned to drop again to $1,000 per child in 2025.

Efforts to expand credit since 2021 have not yielded results. Senate vote on August 1 this failed 48 to 44, with all but three Republicans voting against it.

What is Harris’ plan to expand the child tax credit?

“We know that young families need support to raise their children.” Harris said during his debate against Trump. “And I intend to extend the tax credit for these families.”

Just before last month’s debate, the Harris campaign posted on its official website, “A New Way Forward”, the campaign, which included a segment on the vice president’s “Cutting Taxes for Middle Class Families” plan, highlighted Harris’ goal of expanding the child tax credit to $6,000 for families with newborn children under 1. Without delving deeper into the plan, Harris has said in the past that new had discussed restoring the credit for all unborn children to 2021 levels.

As part of the expansion in 2021, parents will be able to request a credit of $3,000 for children ages 6 and up and $3,600 for children ages 2 to 5. It will also increase the credit amount for newborns to $6,000. The 2021 expansion eliminated work and income requirements, ensuring that eligible parents can receive the full credit regardless of their income.

“(Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz) will also expand the Child Tax Credit to provide a $6,000 tax credit for families with newborn children,” the page states. “They believe no child should live in poverty in America, and these actions will have a historic impact.”

Harris also said she plans to restore the earned income tax credit (EITC) for single and joint filers who do not claim children on their tax returns. The EITC is a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers.

Harris has previously proposed covering the costs of this expansion and other parts of her economic plan by increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Aspect Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget notedhowever, these proposed tax increases have not yet been specified by the campaign.

What did Republicans propose for the child tax credit?

vance He said in an interview with CBS News on August 11: He said he would work to expand the credit if something like this could be resolved with Congress. Trump’s official “Issues” page It does not highlight the child tax deduction, but only suggests reducing taxes in general in one section.

“I would love to see a child tax credit of $5,000 per child,” Vance said. “But of course you have to work with Congress to see how possible and feasible this is.”

The child tax credit was increased from $1,000 to $2,000 in 2017 when Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires in 2025. In a comment to CNBC He said Trump would “consider significantly expanding the child tax credit” but did not elaborate on his plans. A recently released track The fate of the child tax credit from the New York Times He noted that Trump was willing to boast that he “doubled” the credit during his administration, but the article noted that this does not apply to the United States because Trump’s policy treats the policy as a tax cut rather than a credit that anyone can apply for. The poorest 25 percent of families earned too little money to file taxes.

For more on the loan’s history, check out CNET’s history Coverage of taxpayer compliance and how could it be affected by shared custody arrangements.