Child Tax Credit
Overview
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) helps qualifying parents with children under the age of 17 offset the cost of everyday household expenses.
The CTC is designed to ensure that the tax code reflects the fact that families have more expenses and less disposable income than individuals and couples with the same income who don’t have children. Parents can use this credit for any expense, even those unrelated to the cost of raising children.
In July of 2025, Congress increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,200 per qualifying child.
Top
Resources
FFYF Capsule Collection: Tax Policy and Child Care
In A Nutshell With two-thirds of children ages five and under living in homes where all available parents are working, child care is not optional for most families – it’s …
The First Five Things to Know About: The Britt-Kaine Bipartisan Child Care Plan
First Introduced: July 2024 Reintroduced: March 2025. Parents want to make child care choices that best support their family’s individual needs and their child’s development. This is especially true for …
Child Care and the Federal Tax Code
Millions of families across the United States need child care. Yet for too many, child care is hard to find and even harder to afford. Congress can lead the way. …
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STATEMENT: FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling on House Markup of FY26 Funding Levels for Child Care and Early Learning Programs
On September 2, 2025 the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY2026 funding bill, including federal funding for child care and …
Research Finds Preschool Enrollment Can Increase Parent Income
Preschool enrollment has the potential to substantially impact parents’ incomes. Parents’ Earnings and the Returns to Universal Pre-Kindergarten, a study on the economic impact of universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) enrollment in …
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