Pro-Work Tax Credits Help 2 Million Veteran, Military Households

About 2 million veteran and military households earn the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or low-income component of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), two tax credits for low- and moderate-income working households.  But as we detail in a new paper, about half of these families will lose some or all of these tax credits unless Congress saves key provisions of the EITC and CTC that will otherwise expire at the end of 2017.  Our state-by-state data show that thousands of veteran and military families in each state stand to lose.

• Pro-work tax credits boost the economic security of millions of veteran and military households.  Of the 2 million veteran and military households that earn either the EITC or the low-income component of the CTC, or both, according to an analysis of Census and IRS data, in about 240,000 of them, a household member is currently serving in the military and in the rest a household member is a veteran.
• But unless Congress acts to save key provisions of the CTC and EITC, 1 million veteran and military families will lose some or all of their credits.  If lawmakers don’t save the key provisions that are set to expire at the end of 2017 by making them permanent, 1 million veteran and military families will lose some or all of their credits.
• Closing the large gap in the EITC for childless adults and non-custodial parents would also help veterans and serving military members.  Workers who don’t claim dependent children for tax purposes currently are eligible for little or no EITC and partly for that reason, they’re the only group that the federal tax code actually taxes into poverty.  President Obama and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan have offered nearly identical proposals to help close this glaring gap in the EITC for childless workers.  About 500,000 veterans and military members would benefit from these proposals.

Click here for the full paper.