Millions of kids could lose the Child Tax Credit under GOP budget bill

Senate has choky timeline to o.k. President Trump's "big beauteous bill"

Senate has choky timeline to o.k. President Trump's "big beauteous bill" 02:09

A Republican-backed fund bundle includes a caller regularisation for the national Child Tax Credit that could portion the payment from millions of children who are U.S. citizens oregon ineligible residents, according to argumentation experts. 

The proposed taxation and spending legislation — which proponents person dubbed the "one big, beauteous bill" — includes a requirement that some a taxation filer and the person's spouse person Social Security numbers to assertion the Child Tax Credit, oregon CTC, for their kids. That means children with mixed-status parents, specified arsenic 1 genitor who is simply a U.S. national and the 2nd who is not, would nary longer suffice for the taxation credit, said Carl Davis, the probe manager of nonpartisan taxation probe radical ITEP.

Children who are calved successful the U.S., making them American citizens, but whose parents are undocumented would besides beryllium barred from the CTC. In immoderate cases, 1 oregon some parents of a kid who is authorized to beryllium successful the U.S. whitethorn deficiency a Social Security numbers. For example, parents who are successful the U.S. connected non-working visas, specified arsenic postgraduate students connected acquisition visas, would beryllium prohibited from receiving the taxation credit. 

The projected regularisation is portion of a propulsion by Republican lawmakers to guarantee that taxation breaks aren't going to undocumented immigrants. But the caller policies would person the secondary effect of denying a taxation recognition to millions of children successful the U.S. who presently suffice for the benefit, argumentation experts told CBS MoneyWatch. 

The CTC, which present amounts to $2,000 per eligible kid and has been shown to lift children retired of poverty, presently requires that each kid has a valid Social Security number, but not their parents. 

Republicans accidental the measure would payment families by boosting the CTC to $2,500 for 3 years, and past adjusting the taxation recognition each twelvemonth for ostentation truthful its worth doesn't erode implicit time.

A spokesperson for the Republican members of the legislature sheet didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment. 

In May, "Working families, farmers and tiny businesses triumph with this bill," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, said past period from the House floor. "We grow and marque imperishable the tiny concern deduction, and summation the Child Tax Credit, the modular deduction and the Death Tax exemption."

He added, "President Trump stopped the travel of amerciable immigrants implicit our borders — this measure volition halt the travel of payer benefits to their pockets."

4.5 cardinal kids could beryllium affected

Most undocumented immigrants are already blocked from receiving astir national taxation benefits, according to the Brookings Institution. The GOP taxation measure could alternatively destruct taxation breaks for galore immigrants who are successful the U.S. legally, specified arsenic refugees oregon radical connected acquisition visas, the deliberation vessel said successful a caller report. 

The taxation measure could acquisition much changes arsenic it moves done the legislative process. The Senate is presently moving connected the measurement aft it squeaked done the House with a one-vote margin. Some senators have voiced opposition, specified arsenic Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has said the measure volition "explode the debt."

Should the CTC regularisation beryllium passed into law, however, it would interaction astir 4.5 cardinal children, with the top fig residing successful California, Texas and Florida, according to an April estimate from researchers astatine the Center for Migration Studies, Center connected Poverty and Social Policy astatine Columbia University, ITEP and Boston University. 

"The connection present is really to tighten the eligibility rules adjacent much and to say, 'We fundamentally don't attraction if the kid is simply a national oregon not — we request each idiosyncratic successful the household to beryllium a national oregon different person ineligible presumption successful bid for the recognition to beryllium paid out," Davis said. 

"Treated differently"

Under the GOP bill, some spouses successful a fixed household besides indispensable person a Social Security fig to suffice for a fig of different taxation breaks, including provisions eliminating taxes connected worker tips and overtime pay. 

That would make antithetic taxation rules for radical who are joined to spouses without a Social Security number, arsenic good arsenic for immigrants who are undocumented oregon who person valid visas that don't let them to person Social Security numbers, ITEP's Davis said. 

"It seems to say, if your parents don't conscionable this criteria regarding their migration status, past you volition beryllium treated otherwise arsenic a kid than each different children successful the U.S. who were calved of 2 parents that conscionable the qualifications," said Shelby Gonzales, vice president for migration argumentation astatine the Center connected Budget and Policy Priorities, nonpartisan deliberation tank.  

Created successful 1997, the Child Tax Credit received a boost successful President Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which doubled the recognition to $2,000 per eligible child, though that proviso is acceptable to expire astatine the extremity of 2025, erstwhile the recognition is acceptable to instrumentality to $1,000 per kid. 

The Republican taxation measure would boost the CTC to $2,500 per kid from taxation years 2025 done 2028, astatine which constituent the recognition would instrumentality to its $2,000 level. The taxation recognition would besides beryllium adjusted for ostentation each year, ensuring that it wouldn't erode successful worth implicit time. 

Eligible parents tin assertion the CTC erstwhile filing their taxes, which tin assistance families trim their taxation liability oregon person a taxation refund. During the pandemic, the CTC received a impermanent boost that accrued the maximum recognition per kid to $3,600 portion paying retired fractional the payment done monthly payments, helping millions of families afford things similar schoolhouse supplies, covering and acquisition programs for their kids.

An effort past twelvemonth to grow the CTC failed to beforehand successful the Senate in the look of wide Republican opposition.

"When families person counted connected this funding, it means making definite they person the schoolhouse supplies, they person entree to nutrient and groceries," Gonzales said. "That sets them up for a amended trajectory successful life, and each of that could beryllium mislaid due to the fact that they can't entree this credit."

• Child Tax Credit