Tax Credits for Individuals

Tax Credits for Indviduals

This page provides information about available tax credits for individuals expanded under the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

Learn More

Child Tax Credit

The 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) temporarily increased the Child Tax Credit (CTC) from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six. It also raised the age limit for CTC eligibility from 16 to 17.

Earned Income Tax Credit

The 2021 ARP also expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to include more workers without children as well as older workers (65+), temporarily raised the maximum credit for individuals without dependents from approximately $540 to $1,500, and increased the income cap to qualify for individuals without dependents from approximately $16,000 to $21,000.

Income, Eligibility, and Outreach

The CTC and EITC are not considered income. Receiving these tax credits will not impact anyone’s eligibility for federal benefits, such as HUD assistance programs, including the Housing Choice Voucher Program and public housing; unemployment insurance; Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); disability insurance; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Women, Infants and Children programs (WIC); and other benefits.

The federal government along with hundreds of non-profit organizations, state and local governments, and members of Congress are engaged in an all-out push to make sure every eligible American receives the EITC and CTC by filing their taxes.

To amplify these efforts, HUD will mobilize on-the-ground staff and stakeholders to help HUD-assisted households file taxes through targeted communications and promotion of information on the CTC and EITC and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) locations to public housing authorities (PHAs), multifamily housing property managers, resident services providers, housing counselors, Continuums of Care, HIV/AIDS service organizations, victim service providers, and tribal organizations. HUD will also partner with VITA centers across the country and continue our ongoing collaboration with AmeriCorps to assist HUD families. In collaboration with the Department of Treasury, HUD will also host targeted navigator trainings for its stakeholders on the CTC and EITC.

HUD encourages individuals and households to file their taxes in order to receive their CTC and EITC. The following free federal resources can be used to promote these critical tax credits.