A new Treasury analysis of the latest tax filing data emphasizes the broad reach of the child tax credit (CTC) which was increased from $2,000 per child to $2,200 as part of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, which the administration also calls the Working Families Tax Cuts Act).
But the fact that the CTC goes to nearly all families with children is only part of the story.
TPC analysis shows the lowest-income families are the least likely to benefit from the CTC and they benefit less than higher income families from the entire 2025 tax law, as well. Families with low incomes also receive, on average, the smallest CTC benefit – and for them, average benefits are smaller than they were before the law passed (Figure 1).
The OBBBA amended the credit by increasing the maximum CTC from $2,000 per child to $2,200 per child, indexing that amount for inflation annually, and disallowing the credit for US citizen children if they do not have at least one parent who holds a Social Security number (SSN).
Together, these changes helped middle- and high-income families more than those with low incomes – and maintained the pattern that families with low incomes get less from the CTC than those with middle- and high-incomes. (TPC estimates show that roughly 17 million children live in families that do not receive the full $2,200 per child CTC because their families’ earnings are too low.)
The Joint Committee on Taxation further estimated that around 2 million US citizen children would lose the CTC under slightly more restrictive, but similar, Social Security number (SSN) requirements than those ultimately enacted.
The CTC helps many families, and improved design can help many more
Policymakers have proposed several CTC changes that would bolster CTC benefits for families with very low incomes. These include the Stronger Start for Working Families Act (Senators Maggie Hassan, D-NH and Todd Young, R-IN) and the American Family Act (Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT and Sen. Michael Bennet D-CO).
Treasury’s new analysis highlights the broad reach of the CTC. The next step is ensuring that its design matches the evidence on where it can do the most good. Aligning the credit more closely with the needs of the lowest-income families would not only expand its reach but also strengthen its impact on children’s well-being over the long term.
This post has been corrected to clarify that children are excluded from eligibility for the child tax credit if they do not have at least one parent who holds a Social Security number (corrected 6/11/26).
