WI22-05: Social Security Interactions with Child Tax Credit Expansion

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC), increasing the number of eligible children and payment amount with advance monthly payments from July to December 2021. Many Social Security program participants were newly CTC eligible and tax filers with eligible children receiving a maximum CTC amount of$3600 per child per year. Using Current Population Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation data, this study simulates CTC eligibility and effects on income and poverty among SSI child beneficiaries and OASDI or SSI adult beneficiaries with children (hereafter “beneficiaries”) following the CTC expansion. The project identifies which program rules are most influential in increasing eligibility and how CTC program effects differ by demographic subgroups and geography. The findings from this study offer evidence on the interactions between CTC and Social Security Administration (SSA)administered programs.