Here’s What “Pro-Family” Trump Did to Families This Year

In July, the Republican-led Congress passed a sweeping package of legislation that extended some tax breaks while slashing welfare programs. A provision to increase the amount of the child tax credit, which was scheduled to decrease at the end of the year, has one of the most direct and immediate impacts on families. However, the law sets new parameters that will exclude millions of children of immigrants and low-income families from its benefits.

The maximum amount of the credit is now $2,200 and indexed to inflation starting in 2026. But the credit is starting to be phased in for households earning at least $2,500 and, unlike the Covid-era child tax credit that briefly reduced the U.S. child poverty rate, is not fully refundable. If the credit is more than the amount a family pays in income taxes, they will only receive up to $1,700 in refunds for tax year 2025. According to a recent study from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, about one in four children under 17 would not be eligible for the full credit because their parents don’t earn enough, representing about 19 million children: 17 million recipients previously ineligible who saw no benefit from the new law, and 2 million from moderate-income households newly ineligible for the full credit.

“This math just doesn’t make sense in general, at any time, but it also doesn’t make sense when many of the economic indicators we see for families indicate that they are struggling to cover the cost of their bills in other areas,” said Megan Curran, policy director at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy.