1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i The “Childless” EITC: Temporary Expansion for 2021 Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) Updated May 3, 2021 The earned income tax credit (EITC) is the largest need-tested antipoverty program that p
2、rovides cash to families. Workers with qualifying childrenthat is, dependent children who live with the taxpayer for more than half the yearreceive the majority of EITC benefits. For 2018, 26.5 million taxpayers received a total of $64.9 billion from the EITC. Of that total, there were 6.9 million r
3、ecipients without qualifying children (about 26% of the total) who received $2.1 billion (about 3% of the total dollars), receiving an average credit of $302. This Insight provides an overview of the EITC for workers without qualifying children at home, often called the “childless” EITC. The term “c
4、hildless,” however, may be misleading. Workers without qualifying children may have noncustodial children, live with children for less than six months of a year, or live with nonbiological children they cannot claim for the credit. This Insight then summarizes the temporary expansion of the “childle
