Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock along with Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado are introducing legislation that would expand the Child Tax Credit.
The American Family Act would nearly double the Child Tax Credit (CTC) from its current rate. It would provide a $4,300 credit for children under six years old, and a $3,600 credit for children 6 to 17. The bill would also provide a “Baby Bonus”, a $2,400 one-time payment for newborns.
"This is the most ambitious expansion of this tax cut for working and middle-class families to date,” Warnock said. “It is important to emphasize that this is a tax cut. I remember that we made incredible progress back in 2021, when we expanded the Child Tax Credit for six months, cutting the child poverty rate in half and lifting 165,000 Georgia children out of poverty.”
The legislation adjusts for inflation and makes the Child Tax Credit fully refundable for low-income parents. If no action is taken and current provisions expire at the end of the year, the CTC will be slashed in half. Under current law, the CTC is $2,000 per child ages 0-16. Relative to the current CTC, the legislation would double the CTC for children under 6 years old and nearly double it for kids 6 and up.
This year, state lawmakers passed House Bill 136 to establish a $250 per child state credit. Unlike the existing federal credit and the state credit in HB 136, the national proposal would establish a “refundable” credit, meaning low-income families who owe less in taxes than the value of the credit would actually get money from the federal government. Currently, they lose out on the difference between the credit and their tax bill, so higher earners are more able to take full advantage.
Currently, there are more than 11 million children living below the poverty line in the United States.
