JUST THE FACTS · 7:16M
6. What cash assistance does the government provide?
November 24, 2025 · The federal government sends cash directly to tens of millions of Americans each year. These programs provide income support, from short-term TANF aid for families to tax credits and monthly checks for low-income workers, parents, and seniors. In this episode of “Just the Facts: Do You Qualify?”, USAFActs founder Steve Ballmer walks through how these programs work, who they reach, and what $163 billion in federal cash assistance really looks like. Should the government do more or less to support people with lower income?
Just the Facts: Do You Qualify?
6. What cash assistance does the government provide?
(Current video)
7m
Transcript
In the US, the government sends money directly to tens of millions of Americans. Although there are many programs, I’ll walk us through four of the largest ways that cash gets delivered to support individuals with lower incomes.
Just the Facts: Do You Qualify? A look at government support in America. A six part series from USA Facts. In this episode: cash assistance.
Many people have a concept of “welfare,” but there really is no longer such a program.
The closest actually is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, and it provides short term cash to very low income families with children.
Families can only get it for up to 60 months over their lifetime.
A family with two children might receive a few hundred dollars a month in TANF support.
Nearly half of all TANF cases are child only, meaning the benefits are intended only for the child, while the parent or guardian does not qualify.
In 2024, 14.3% of children in the US were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group
In 2024, TANF cost the federal government $18 billion. However, only a portion – about 20-20% of that in the previous three years, which is the most recent data available, is actually distributed as cash payments – and that reaches about 840,000 families.
The rest was spent on things like childcare, job programs, pre-K, and administrative costs.
States also contribute and have the flexibility to choose how to spend their TANF dollars, and decide who is eligible, as long as the program aims to achieve the federally mandated goals.
Federal funding for TANF has generally decreased after a peak in 2003.
TANF is only one example of a program through which the government supports people in the form of cash.
Millions of families benefit every year, with many programs reaching people with incomes above the official poverty measure.
The official poverty threshold vary by family type, age, and number of children.
Poverty thresholds by family type and number of children (2024)
The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, is another cash support program, and it’s delivered through the tax system.
The EITC is a refundable credit, meaning people can receive it even if they owe no taxes, for low to moderate income workers, providing larger benefits to workers with children.
The maximum income to qualify is about $69,000 if you’re married with three kids.
About 24 million filers, which is about 15% of the total tax filers, received the EITC.
And the IRS estimates that 81% of those who file, receive it.
In addition to the federal EITC, 31 states have their own version, which provides additional support.
In 2024, EITC – the refundable portion, where the government sends cash back – accounted for about 1% of the federal budget.
The Child Tax Credit, or CTC, is the cash assistance program that is so popular, both parties advocated to expand it in the 2024 election.
It gives families up to $2,200 per child as a tax break.
Single filers with incomes up to $200,000 and married filers filing jointly with incomes up to $400,000 are eligible for the full Child Tax Credit.
Similar to the EITC, families who owe no income tax can still receive up to $1,700 per child as a refund.
About 11% of tax filers received the refundable CTC.
In 2024, the CTC – again the refundable portion which comes back to citizens as cash – accounted for about 0.4% of the federal budget.
Percent of filers receiving refundable Child Tax Credit, by income group
Tax year 2022
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI (government loves acronyms) supports people who are elderly, blind or disabled, and living on very low incomes and with limited resources.
A 70-year-old retiree who didn’t work enough to qualify for Social Security, or an individual with a disability that leaves them unable to do any substantial activity for longer than 12 months, might receive an SSI check to help with groceries, electric bills, etc.
As of 2024, about 7 million people received SSI, with an average monthly payment of $692. Of those, about 84% were disabled, and 16% were seniors.
Disabled means blind, or with a medical condition that prevents work that is expected to last at least 12 months, or to result in death.
Total cost to the federal government? About 1% of the whole budget.
One note: SSI is not the same as Disability Insurance, a program nearly three times as large that provides assistance to disabled individuals but through the Social Security system.
While both are for people with disabilities, SSI provides support to individuals based on their income and available resources, whereas Disability Insurance is available to individuals who have worked enough years to qualify for Social Security.
These four programs together cost around $163 billion in 2024, roughly 2.4% of the total federal budget. And though they are only a portion of cash assistance programs, they reach tens of millions of people.
Social Security recipients have increased 166% since 1970.
Number of Social Security recipients by benefit type, 1970–2024
As of this recording, there’s a lot of debate over new tax and spend policies starting in 2026.
The bottom line on cash assistance? These programs provide support to people based on how much money they earn, and while some target people in or near poverty, others are available to people who earn more.
Should the government do more or less to support people with lower incomes? These debates have been going on for decades.
Thanks for watching, and please share the entire series: Do You Qualify? A look at government support in America.
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Page sources and methodology
All of the data on the video and page was sourced directly from government agencies. The analysis and final review was performed by USAFacts.
Administration for Children & Families
TANF Caseload
Internal Revenue Service
Statistics of Income
