About 25 million people receive a refund for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which they use to pay bills, cover expenses like child care, or make major purchases. The EITC is one of America’s most important anti-poverty programs, and helps to ensure millions of workers are not taxed into poverty.
Refundable tax credits help millions of people with low incomes avoid poverty. Chief among them are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC), which benefitted 28 million in 2018 and lifted nearly 11 million people out of poverty. Tax credits support and reward work, help families meet basic needs, improve children’s outcomes, and strengthen community economies. CLASP advocates protecting and building on these supports, including expanding the EITC to workers without children.