2019 Was Another Banner Year for State-Level Tax Credits

By Devin Simpson

In recent years, tax credits for working families have made significant progress at the state level, and this past year was no exception. 2019 saw Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions in six states and the enactment of a new EITC in one state. Bills to enact or expand tax credits for working families made progress in dozens of other state legislatures.

Successful state-level EITC expansions in 2019 included:

  • California expanded the CalEITC’s eligibility to taxpayers earning up to $30,000.
  • Maine expanded its credit from 5 to 25 percent of the federal credit for workers without dependent children and from 5 to 12 percent of the federal credit for all other eligible taxpayers. The state also lowered the minimum age requirement for the credit from 25 to 18 years old.
  • Minnesota expanded accessibility to its credit by creating a fourth tier for families with three or more dependent children and increasing the credit’s income thresholds for the existing three tiers (no qualifying children, one qualifying child, and two qualifying children.) The legislation also increased the credit value and qualifying income level for workers without dependent children.
  • New Mexico expanded its credit from 10 to 17 percent of the federal credit.
  • Ohio expanded its credit from 10 to 30 percent of the federal credit.
  • Oregon expanded its EITC from 11 to 12 percent of the federal credit for taxpayers with dependent children under the age of three, and from 8 to 9 percent of the federal credit for all other eligible taxpayers.
  • Utah enacted a fully refundable credit worth 10 percent of the federal credit for families experiencing intergenerational poverty.

To learn more about the 2019 EITC campaigns in Minnesota, New Mexico, and Oregon, read TCWF’s case studies. Working on an EITC campaign this year? Tell us about it here. Let’s work together to keep the EITC momentum going in 2020.