Before and After TCJA: The Child Tax Credit
The OBBBA permanently increased the Child Tax Credit to $2,200, extending and expanding TCJA reforms set to expire in 2025.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is one of several tax credits designed to benefit families with children, delivering over $100 billion a year to US families through a combination of tax reductions and direct payments. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA) increased the maximum CTC benefit to $2,200 beginning in 2025. Prior to OBBBA, the maximum CTC was $2,000, a level set by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which also expanded eligibility to higher-income families. This brief provides an overview of the CTC, focusing on the reforms introduced by TCJA that OBBBA preserved and expanded upon.
Data summary
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) introduced several expansions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), including doubling the maximum benefit to $2,000 per child and expanding eligibility for higher-income families. Those expansions had been scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, but the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) permanently increased the maximum benefit to $2,200 and set it to rise with inflation.
- Post-TCJA, aggregate CTC benefits claimed more than doubled — from $51.4 billion to $117.7 billion — between 2017 and 2018, mostly from a rise in nonrefundable CTC benefits.
- Aggregate CTC benefits rose across the income distribution, with middle- and high-income families receiving the largest increases. Aggregate benefits for families making between $25,000 and $50,000 rose from $16.0 billion in 2017 to $30.4 billion in 2018; those making $100,000 to $200,000 saw an increase from $5.2 billion to $26.4 billion.
- Average refundable benefits rose from $1,336 to $1,772, while nonrefundable benefits increased from $1,218 to $2,070.
- Aggregate CTC benefits increased at similar levels across states, roughly doubling in each.
Keep exploring
- How has TCJA impacted individual income taxes? - In 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded or made parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. Here's how the TCJA has affected taxes since 2018.
- How did the child tax credit change over time? - The American Rescue Plan temporarily increased the child tax credit per child and expanded eligibility for lower income families. Now the credit is back to pre-pandemic levels.
- All about taxes - The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) came with some big tax changes. When do they take effect and what's the tax story so far? Here's your one stop shop for everything taxes.
- What’s in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”? - From tax reform to shifts in healthcare, immigration, and SNAP, this legislation will likely affect you.