What the study found
Advance tax credit repayments usually happen when recipients' income increases into the range where the credit phases out. The study also finds that credits aimed at lower-income families have phaseouts that affect many people with income increases, which leads to higher repayment rates.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors say policymakers have limited information about these repayments, their distributional impact, and the cost of repayment protections. The study suggests that advancing credits can contribute to noncompliance and introduces an approach to evaluate advance tax credit proposals.
What the researchers tested
The researchers estimated repayments using tax data across four advance credits: health-insurance premium tax credits, child tax credits, earned income tax credits, and stimulus checks. They examined repayment amounts, distributional impact, and the cost of repayment protections.
What worked and what didn't
The abstract says repayments usually result from income increases across credit phaseouts. It also reports that credits targeting lower-income families have phaseouts affecting many people with income increases, resulting in higher repayment rates.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe detailed limitations beyond noting that policymakers have limited information on these topics. No additional caveats are stated in the available summary.
Key points
- Advance tax credit repayments usually occur when recipients' income rises into a phaseout range.
- Credits targeting lower-income families have higher repayment rates because their phaseouts affect more people with income increases.
- The researchers used tax data to study four advance credits: premium tax credits, child tax credits, earned income tax credits, and stimulus checks.
- The authors say policymakers have limited information about repayment distribution and the cost of repayment protections.
- The study suggests advancing credits can contribute to noncompliance.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Advance tax credit repayments often follow income increases
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-03
- DOI:
- 10.1086/737017
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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