As Congress considers extending the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the child tax credit (CTC) has drawn increasing attention.
For example, at the beginning of the year, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) emphasized the importance of expanding the credit to help working families. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Michael Crapo (R-ID) is reportedly considering CTC expansions, including the refundable portion of the credit accessible to lower-income families.
As deliberations unfold this year, policymakers may look to existing and past proposals for ways to modify the CTC. Those proposals are summarized in a CTC side-by-side table linked below. They include major proposals to expand the CTC introduced either in the current 119th Congress, or like the bill known as “Smith-Wyden,” advanced in at least one chamber of Congress in the 118th Congress.
The table allows comparison of the bills across various parameters, including: the maximum credit, , credit phase-ins for low-income families and phase-outs for higher-income families, and credit amounts for newborns or pregnant women. Note that one bill—the FISC (Family Income Supplemental Credit) Act introduced by Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)—eliminates the CTC and replaces it with a monthly payment which is not a tax credit.
The table will be updated regularly with new bills, amendments, or detailed proposals during the TCJA debate.
