b'SUMMARY Participation makes a difference In recent years,several organizations have focused on increasing awareness of the tax credits available to low-income Americans and provided resources that offer practical, affordable (mostly free) help to claim them. These credits can provide a stepping stone for millions At least one in five eligible Americans missto climb out of poverty and realize economic stability. out on money from tax credits because they either dont know about them, or they dontThe federal government has used earned income know how to claim them.tax credits (EITC) as a poverty-reduction strategy for decades. By setting income tax liabilities based on factors like income level, marital status, and number of children in the home, lower-income tax lers can keep more of their money to build a solid nancial foundation. Expansions over the years have included increasing credit amounts and making the credits at least partially refundable, allowing families to receive some or all of the credit that exceeds the amount of taxes owed. Even households that do not owe federal income tax can claim the credits, and the refundable portion becomes income support to otherwise ineligible low-income households. Data indicatesthat this change alone could result in a 40 percent reduction in national poverty, which advocates hope leads to making it a permanent social policy reform.The stories on the following pages come from the experiences of real people who have faced many of the same challenges and setbacks as other low-income Americans. We hope that by sharing their stories, others will realize how these tax credits can providea boost toward economic stability.The 2021 temporary expansion to the federal benefits program allowed more people than ever to qualify for significant tax credits through the EITC or the Child Tax Credit (CTC). For the first time, childless working adults between 19 and 24, or 65 and older, could qualify for more than $1,500 from the federal government through the Earned Income Tax Credit, while eligible working adults with children in the home could claim up to $3,600 per child through the CTC.+Qualifying age for working adults before 2021 temporary expansion+ 1924 256465 and older3'