Survey reveals gaps with child tax credit

Hispanic families, less educated often not being helped.

WASHINGTON — As discussions continue on Capitol Hill over whether to extend President Joe Biden’s expanded child tax credit, a new survey reveals that middle class, educated and white parents have been more likely to claim the child tax credit in the past than Hispanic families and those who did not graduate high school.

The survey, which was administered by the polling firm Ipsos in consultation with the National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Law and Social Policy and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and others, was conducted in July, just as the first payments from the expanded child tax credit were rolling out. As a result, the poll captures the way Americans used the child tax credit before Biden broadened eligibility requirements. However, the survey results raise questions about whether the expanded tax credit’s benefits are reaching those who need it most.

The day before the poll came out, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.VA., criticized the expanded child tax credit for not being targeted enough.

“There’s no work requirements whatsoever,” Manchin said on CNN’S “State of the Union.” “There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets. Don’t you think if you want to help the children, the people should make some effort?”

Families across the income spectrum have long qualified for some form of tax relief, but earlier this year, as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure, the Biden administration began allowing parents to receive half of their refunds in advance through small monthly payments.

Under the previous child tax credit, families received a lump benefit of up to $2,000 per child off their tax bills, but many low-income families received a smaller benefit, and some didn’t qualify at all. Parents can now receive $250 per month for each child between ages 6 and 17, and $300 for each younger than age 6 — up to $3,600 per child. The monthly payments are set to expire in December. Researchers believe it will raise 4.1 million children above the poverty line, reducing child poverty by more than 40%.

This week, lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee began debating whether to extend the monthly installment through 2025 as part of a proposed $3.5 trillion tax and spending package. The bill would also make permanent a provision that allows the lowest-income families to receive the full benefit.

Amy Matsui, the director of income security at the National Women’s Law Center, believes that the survey findings suggest Congress should extend the expanded tax.

“This is a really important thing to improve family’s stability and their well-being, and it’s helping them make ends meet at a really tough economic time,” she said. “You really can see how hard it would be for families to have this benefit yanked away from them just when they might be starting to dig out from the recession next year.”

The National Women’s Law Center and its partners worked with Ipsos to interview a nationally representative sample of 1,031 households with incomes below $150,000 and children under the age of 18.

The survey data found that most parents, regardless of income, are likely to use part of the credit to pay for bills and basic household expenses. The results echo recent findings released by the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. In August, parents reported having less trouble covering the costs of food and other household expenses after receiving their first payment. Roughly half of those who received a July payment reported using it to pay for food, and 17% of families who have a child under the age of 5 used part of the credit to pay for child care.

Still, disparities exist. The Ipsos survey showed that while 4 out of 5 eligible families claimed the credit in 2019 or 2020, parents or guardians with lower levels of education were less likely to do so. Just 68% of respondents with less than a high school degree claimed the credit in recent years. A fifth of eligible families were unaware of the monthly advance-payments.

Though the credit was expanded to help families who live in poverty, married parents who earn up to $150,000 a year, and single parents who make $112,500 or less can also receive the full credit. Families with higher incomes may also receive a smaller credit — an allowance Manchin noted in his CNN appearance.

“I have got people that are making combined 200 and 300 (thousand) and more, up to 400, saying they’re getting checks,” Manchin said. “We’re not having anything about need base.”