Child tax credit.

A permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit is important to LGBTQ+ families.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) families face disproportionately higher rates of poverty compared to their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts, due to discrimination in employment and other arenas.
43% of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults aged 18 to 44 raising children live in poverty.
LGBTQ+ people are 38% more likely to live in poverty than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
Black same-sex couples are more likely to live in poverty than straight Black couples or white same-sex couples.
LGBTQ+ people have experienced 42% greater rates of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.
COVID-19 has exacerbated existing barriers to stable employment for LGBTQ+ people, who are overrepresented in industries highly affected by the pandemic—such as restaurants and food services, hospitals, K-12 education, colleges and universities, and retail.
LGBTQ+ people recovered less quickly from the Great Recession of 2009 and we fear a similar outcome following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last recession resulted in higher rates of unemployment for same-sex couples nearly every year from 2014-19 as compared to Americans as a whole.
What is the Expanded Child Tax Credit?
It is a tax relief payment for American working families that will reduce child poverty by more than 40%.
The current expansion of the CTC is only in place through 2021.
This credit is delivered by the IRS in monthly installments to eligible families (single parents earning less than $112,500 and couples earning under $150,000).
Administrative costs of the expanded CTC are low as eligibility and payments are determined and delivered by the IRS based on existing tax records and new information provided by families through on-line IRS portals.
For more information email Julie Kruse, Director of Federal Policy, at jkruse@familyequality.org