The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Housing Affordability and the Living Arrangements of Families With Low Incomes

Access to safe and sta ble hous ing is impor tant for child and adult wellbeing. Yet many low-income house holds face severe chal lenges in maintaining sta ble hous ing. In this arti cle, we exam ine the impact of the 2021 tem po rary expan sion to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on hous ing afford abil ity and the liv ing arrange ments of fami lies with low incomes. We employ a param e ter ized differ enceindiffer ences method and lever age national data from a sam ple of par ents who are receiv ing or recently received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ben e fits (N = similar to 20,500), many of whom became newly eli gi ble for the CTC. We find that the monthly CTC reduced par ents' past-due rent/mort gages (both amounts and inci dence) and their reports of poten tial moves due to difficul ties affording rent/mort gages. The CTC increased the like li hood that par ents reported a change in their liv ing arrange ments and reduced their house hold size, both effects driven by fewer moth ers liv ing with a part ner (and not a reduc tion in dou bling up). We find some differ ences in effects by race and eth nic ity and earn ings. Our find ings illus trate that the monthly credit improved lowincome par ents' abil ity to afford hous ing, gain res i den tial inde pen dence from part ners, and reduce the num ber of peo ple resid ing in their house hold.