Broadening Child Tax Credit Would Permanently Reduce Child Poverty, Says CBPP

President Joe Biden Plan to build back better extend the extended monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments until 2022 and make these benefits permanently available to low-income families. This has the potential to reduce child poverty by more than 40%, according to one new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The vast majority (87%) of this impact is due to full reimbursement, which allows low-income families to receive the same amount of CTC as qualifying higher-income families. Before the US bailout, 27 million children from low-income families received a reduced amount of credit or no credit at all.

However, the trillion dollar Build Back Better spending plan must go through a divided Congress before it is enacted, and moderate Democrats like the Senses. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) Might not support him. the bill without significant cuts.

Keep reading to learn more about the expanded child tax credit, including alternative financing options like personal loans. Visit Credible to compare the interest rates of several lenders at once without affecting your credit score.

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CTC’s permanent expansion would benefit 4.1 million children

The American rescue plan increased the maximum credit to $ 3,600 per child for children under 5 and to $ 3,000 for children 6 to 17. The total amount begins to gradually decline for unmarried filers earning over $ 112,500 and married couples earning over $ 150,000. Notably, it also made credit available for families who lacked income or had too low income.

Build Back Better would extend the expansion of the US bailout until next year and make the full payback permanent. This means that low-income families that were not eligible for the child tax credit would now be eligible every tax year. A permanent full repayment would raise an estimated 3.6 million American children above the poverty line, according to CBPP estimates. If the maximum credit is permanently increased to $ 3,600 per child, that number would increase to 4.1 million children.

“Making full credit permanently accessible to low-income families would improve children’s lives in the short and long term and benefit society as a whole, in important ways,” according to the report.

Specifically, additional income leads to better educational outcomes, better health outcomes, and higher incomes in adulthood. Overall, CTC expansions are expected to benefit more than 65 million children, or nearly 90% of all children in America.

Working families who are not eligible for CTC payments but need the extra cash can consider borrowing a fixed rate personal loan. Personal loan rates are near historic lows, according to the Federal Reserve, and you can see your estimated rate for free on Credible.

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BBB would also limit spending on childcare

In addition to expanding the child tax credit program, Build Back Better would also limit the amount most Americans pay for child care to 7% of their income. Currently, families typically spend around 13% of their income on child care, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. NPR Marketplace.

“It will help Americans, especially women, to work, spur labor market participation and growth, and it will provide better resources for growing children,” Yellen said.

The high cost of childcare is enough to exclude many single parents from the labor market. About 1 in 6 (16%) of low-income families spent their monthly child care tax credit payments.

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What to do if CTC payments are not extended

Under Build Back Better, families could receive advance child tax credit payments of $ 300 per child under 6 and $ 250 per child 6 to 17 through direct deposit throughout the year. year 2022. But if lawmakers fail to agree on increasing advance payments, families need to find other ways to meet those needs. Here are some government programs available to low-income families:

If you don’t qualify for these programs but still need the extra money to make ends meet, consider borrowing a lump sum personal loan. You can view your offers for free on Credible’s online marketplace. Then use a personal loan calculator to estimate your monthly payments.

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