The Role of Earned Income Tax Credit in the Budgets of Low-Income Households

2012 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruby Mendenhall ◽  
Kathryn Edin ◽  
Susan Crowley ◽  
Jennifer Sykes ◽  
Laura Tach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Low Income Households

scholarly journals State Earned Income Tax Credit policies and intimate partner homicide in the USA, 1990–2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 562-565
Author(s):  
Caitlin A Moe ◽  
Avanti Adhia ◽  
Stephen J Mooney ◽  
Heather D Hill ◽  
Frederick P Rivara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Intimate Partner Homicide ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
The Usa

Economic insecurity is a risk factor for intimate partner homicide (IPH). The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest cash transfer programme to low-income working families in the USA. We hypothesised that EITCs could provide financial means for potential IPH victims to exit abusive relationships and establish self-sufficiency. We conducted a national, quasiexperimental study of state EITCs and IPH rates in 1990–2016 using a difference-in-differences approach. The national rate of IPH decreased from 1.9 per 100 000 adult women in 1990 to 1.3 per 100 000 in 2016. We found no statistically significant association between state EITC generosity and IPH rates (coefficient indicating change in IPH rates per 100 000 adult female years for additional 10% in amount of state EITC, measured as the percentage of federal EITC: 0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to 0.08). Financial control associated with abuse and current EITC eligibility rules may prevent potential IPH victims from accessing the EITC.

scholarly journals The EITC, Tax Refunds, and Unemployment Spells

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara LaLumia
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Unemployment Duration ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Tax Refunds ◽  
Unemployment Spells ◽  
Exogenous Source

The earned income tax credit generates large average tax refunds for low-income parents, and these refunds are distributed in a narrow time frame. I rely on this plausibly exogenous source of variation in liquidity to investigate the effect of cash on hand on unemployment duration. Among EITC-eligible women, unemployment spells beginning just after tax refund receipt last longer than unemployment spells beginning at other times of year. There is no evidence that tax refund receipt is associated with longer unemployment duration for men, or that the longer durations for women are associated with higher-quality subsequent job matches. (JEL H24, J64)

Moving Forward with the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit: Analysis of Proposals to Expand Refundable Tax Credits

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1163-1186
Author(s):  
Elaine Maag ◽  
Nikhita Airi
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Low Income Children ◽  
Child Tax Credit

Policymakers grapple with the related issues of unequal incomes, relatively poor health, education, and economic outcomes for low-income children, and hardship among low- and moderate-income families. Refundable tax credits provide substantial support and relief to many. This analysis details who benefits from the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC) and four large-scale tax credit proposals that would provide substantial and ongoing benefits through these or similar credits. Broadly, proposals focused on children exclude childless adults and the elderly, and proposals focused on work exclude nonworkers, including most of the elderly, but include many workers with children.

Financial Instability in the Earned Income Tax Credit Program: Can Advanced Periodic Payments Ameliorate Systemic Stressors?

2020 ◽  
pp. 107808742092152
Author(s):  
Andrew Greenlee ◽  
Karen Kramer ◽  
Flavia Andrade ◽  
Dylan Bellisle ◽  
Renee Blanks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Financial Instability ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Support Mechanism ◽  
Lump Sum

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) serves more than 26 million U.S. tax filers every year. The EITC is distributed annually at tax time; however, past research suggests that lump-sum disbursements leave households with a lack of funds to deal with financial emergencies throughout the year. Drawing upon the data from a pilot program conducted in 2014–2015 in Chicago, this study analyzes how advanced periodic payments help mitigate financial instability for EITC recipients. Interview participants relate that advanced periodic payments result in a reduction in perceived stress, lower levels of debt, fewer unpaid bills, and the ability to engage youth in extracurricular activities. The findings provide a unique perspective on the ways in which low-income households cope with financial instability and stress and suggest that payment frequency options can play a small but important role in the way in which the EITC operates as a support mechanism.

The Earned Income Tax Credit

2019 ◽  
Vol 686 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Hoynes
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Earned Income Tax Credit ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Tax Credit ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
History Of ◽  
Federal Income Tax ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Child Tax Credit

In this article, I review the most prominent provision of the federal income tax code that targets low-income tax filers, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), as well as the structurally similar Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit. I discuss the programs’ goals: distributional, promoting work, and limiting administrative and compliance costs. The article reviews the history of the programs, the predicted economic effects, and what is known about program impacts and distributional consequences. I conclude that the EITC effectively targets low-income households and is efficient in reducing poverty while encouraging work and that increases in after-tax household incomes lead to improved outcomes over the life course for children of those households. I propose reforms to the program, including policies that expand the generosity of the credit and increase take-up, as well as structural reforms that include spreading benefits throughout the year and reducing reliance on paid tax preparers.

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