If you have a child under 17, the presidential candidates are talking to you this election season. Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing an expansion of the child tax credit that, if approved, could provide significant financial relief to families with newborns. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, laid out her vision for the tax credit in an economic plan she unveiled a week before the Democratic National Convention.

Plans to expand the tax credit have become a central talking point among Democrats in Washington as well as Republicans. Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have floated similar ideas. A key part of Harris’ plan is restoring the expanded child tax credit that was part of the American Rescue Act of 2021.

Studies suggest that the temporary increase in the credit had a significant impact on child poverty in 2021. Columbia University’s Center on Poverty & Social Policy found that the payments reduced the monthly child poverty rate by nearly 30 percent, reaching about 61 million children.

Read on to find out how much Harris wants to increase the child tax credit and how it compares to the ideas of her Republican opponents. For more information on the election, click here. Check if you are registered to vote.

What is the child allowance?

The child tax credit provides parents with a tax break for each child under 17 that they claim as a dependent. The credit was introduced in 1997 and is currently $2,000 per child, with only $1,600 of that amount being refundable. This means you can get that amount even if you don’t owe that much in taxes. The remaining $400 is non-refundable, so it can only be used to reduce your tax burden.

In 2021, President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan was passed and brought significant increases to the child tax credit. Under the law, the tax credit was increased to $3,600 per child under the age of six and $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17. The tax credit was also fully refundable and partially payable as a monthly benefit.

What happens to the child allowance after 2021?

After 2021, Congress did not extend the temporary tax relief and the child tax credit fell back to its previous level. In 2025, it is scheduled to be reduced again to $1,000 per child.

Efforts to extend the credit since 2021 have been unsuccessful. Most recently, a vote in the Senate on August 1 failed by 48 votes to 44, as all but three Republicans voted against it.

What did Kamala Harris propose to expand the child tax credit?

As part of her economic plan, Harris said she wants to restore the child tax credit to its 2021 amount. And not just restore it. Harris said she will work to significantly increase the tax credit for newborns under one year old for middle- and low-income families to $6,000.

“We will give families a $6,000 tax credit in the first year of a child’s life,” Harris said during a speech in North Carolina outlining her economic agenda.

Harris proposed covering the costs of this expansion and other parts of her economic plan through tax increases on corporations and the wealthy. However, as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted, those proposed tax increases have not yet been fleshed out by the campaign.

What have the Republicans proposed regarding the child tax credit?

JD Vance, Republican Senator from Ohio and Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, said in an interview with CBS News on August 11 that he would support an increase in the credit.

“I would like to see a child tax credit of $5,000 per child,” Vance said. “But of course you have to work with Congress to see how possible and feasible that is.”

The child tax credit was raised from $1,000 to $2,000 in 2017 when Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expires in 2025. His 2024 campaign said in a commentary to CNBC that Trump “will consider a significant expansion of the child tax credit,” but did not elaborate on his plans.

For more information on the history of the credit, see CNET’s previous coverage on taxpayer eligibility and the potential impact of stock trust agreements.