The child tax credit (CTC) can be a powerful tool to alleviate poverty and often receives bi-partisan support. What if families could help design one that meets their needs? In an approach rarely used in tax policy, we recruited families to help do just that. They suggested three credit design modifications: permanently increase the credit amount, including how much is available to families with very low incomes; increase the age limit for children to qualify; and deliver the credit over the course of a year among all of a child’s caregivers.

Community engagement can translate families’ experiences into effective policy design

Between fall 2024 and summer 2025, we convened four family advisory boards in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Boston, Massachusetts; and Washington, DC. Together, the boards included 28 low-and-middle income families from diverse backgrounds. Each group met with us four times. 

Some of these families received the expanded CTC in 2021 though others missed out on it because they faced high barriers to accessing it, including not knowing about it or not qualifying for it. 

At that time, Congress temporarily expanded the CTC, most significantly by allowing almost all families with low incomes to receive the full credit. Child poverty fell to a record low of 5.2 percent, with particularly large reductions among Black and Latino children. But once the expansion expired, the CTC again required families with low incomes to earn at least $2,500 before they could receive any credit, and benefits increased only as earnings grew. 

Today, families can qualify for up to $2,200 per child – but only $1,700 of that amount can be received if a family does not owe federal income taxes. This design continues to exclude the lowest-income children from receiving the full CTC, including a disproportionate share of children who are Black, Latino, or live in families with mixed-immigration status.

We reviewed CTC eligibility criteria with members of the family advisory boards and asked about the challenges they faced in receiving the credit and how they might change its design to be more impactful. Members shared three key suggestions.

Permanently increase the CTC amount to account for higher costs 

The 2021 CTC expansion temporarily increased the maximum credit amount to up to $3,600 for children under 6 and up to $3,000 for children ages 6-17. After the expansion expired, the amount reverted to $2,000 per child up to age 16 (this amount was subsequently increased to $2,200 per child up to age 16 in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). Notably, the full amount was available to families with low incomes in 2021 but today, families with low incomes are often limited to a credit of $1,700 or less.

Families shared how helpful the pandemic boost was and would be if reinstated. Many participants suggested that receiving a higher credit amount would more closely align with their increasing food costs and other bills. They also noted that a lower credit amount is likely less helpful in geographical areas that are more expensive than others.

Raise the CTC age limit to reflect family realities

Most participants recommended children older than 16 be eligible for the CTC. Participants argued that these children remain financially dependent on their parents and the CTC should reflect this reality. For example, if a child attends college, they often remain financially dependent on their parents for most basic needs. Some emphasized that college-age children were still legally considered dependents for taxes and financial aid.  

Similarly, speaking from experience, some families suggested that a family with a child with special needs or disabilities may need more help. They recommended these children should remain eligible for the CTC beyond the standard age limit, and that their parents and caregivers should be exempt from earnings requirements to access the full credit.  

Deliver the credit throughout the year and split it among key caretakers

During the temporary CTC expansion, families received monthly credit payments before filing their tax returns. Most participants expressed that monthly payments would better meet their needs and would allow families to use the CTC to pay monthly or regular expenses like rent, utilities, and groceries. Monthly payments also help families plan for children’s year-round expenses such as sports, summer camp, and back-to-school expenses. 

They also recommended allowing the CTC to be split among unmarried parents or other caregivers,  such as grandparents who make regular but non-financial contributions to the child’s life. They thought this might be fairer than the current method of delivering the full credit to one parent, since the person who has custody of the child is not necessarily the sole financial provider. Other people in the child’s life may provide non-financial forms of support—like time with the child or even transportation—that current CTC rules do not acknowledge.

Incorporating families’ suggestions could help reduce economic inequality 

Overall, most participants agreed that the CTC had a positive impact on their family’s wellbeing and helped offset their children’s expenses such as after-school activities, healthcare, food and school supplies. Others also mentioned how the credit helped with indirect expenses, such as rent and utility bills, that support their child’s wellbeing. 

Tax policies benefitting families have changed significantly since we convened the family advisory boards. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted in July 2025, made changes that shift more tax benefits to middle- and high-income families. Listening to the experiences of low-income families who have received the CTC or would highly benefit from it, could help inform a sustainable redesign that improves access to the credit and increases its impact.