Congress expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). The additional benefits that millions of families and workers received under that law will end this month if Congress does not act soon.
The CTC expansion boosted the annual tax credit per child from $2,000 to $3,000 for children age six or older and $3,600 for children under six. The act also made the credit fully refundable, meaning children in low- and moderate-income households now receive the full value of the credit. The EITC expansion has not made headlines in the same way as the CTC. But ARP expanded the value of that credit for low-income people without dependents and allows workers under age 25 and over age 64 to claim the EITC for the first time in 2021.
