But not every family with children will get them, so Klain’s tweet is slightly off the mark. The Biden administration otherwise has been disciplined in saying “nearly all working families.” That’s a subtle but worthwhile distinction.
President Biden in March signed into law a $1.9 trillion stimulus called the American Rescue Plan, which includes a temporary expansion of the child tax credit for 2021.
The age limit for eligible children was raised from 16 to 17, and the value of the tax credit increased from a flat rate of $2,000 per child to $3,600 for children 5 and younger, and $3,000 for those ages 6 to 17.
The changes made the tax credit fully refundable for 2021. The deduction was capped previously at $1,400. The credit also was extended to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories for the first time.
A couple making less than $150,000 and a single parent making less than $112,500 (filing as head of household) qualify for the full benefit. “Above these income thresholds, the extra amount above the original $2,000 credit — either $1,000 or $1,600 per child — is reduced by $50 for every extra $1,000 in modified [adjusted gross income],” the Internal Revenue Service says, meaning some wealthier families at the high end would not receive any windfall.
“These changes will increase the amount of the credit for low- and moderate-income taxpayers, while higher-income families will generally receive the same benefit as under prior law (unless they have an eligible 17-year-old),” according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
The Biden administration says these moves could put a big dent in the child poverty rate and has proposed to keep the beefed-up credits at least through 2025 and to make the full-refundability provision permanent. The child tax credit was last increased in 2018 by the Trump administration and Congress, from $1,000 to $2,000 per child.
“This year, a family with two young children would receive a tax cut of $7,200, with a monthly payment of $600 starting in July,” Biden said in a statement Monday. “Almost all families who have filed taxes in the last two years will receive this tax cut automatically.”
Notice how he says “almost all.” The president’s statement also says “nearly every working family with children is going to feel this tax cut make a difference in their lives.”
“Nearly all families with kids will qualify,” the White House says in a website devoted to the child tax credit. “Some income limitations apply. For example, only couples making less than $150,000 and single parents (also called Head of Household) making less than $112,500 will qualify for the additional 2021 Child Tax Credit amounts. Families with high incomes may receive a smaller credit or may not qualify for any credit at all.”
A Twitter thread by the White House explaining the credit also hews rigorously to the “nearly all working families” construction. So, it’s just Klain who said “every family.”
After we reached out to the White House, Klain posted a follow-up tweet correcting his previous statement. “This tax cut goes to families of 88% of America’s kids!” he wrote.
The IRS started sending letters this month to millions of families who may qualify for the child tax credit this year based on their tax returns on file. The amount of the credit is based off a household’s 2020 return, or if that isn’t available, the 2019 return.
“Roughly 39 million households — covering 88% of children in the United States — are slated to begin receiving monthly payments without any…
Read More: White House chief flubs tweet on Biden’s child tax credit
