This bill establishes a new nonrefundable personal tax credit (for three years) of $3,500 for critical employees. The bill also increases and makes other changes to the child tax credit.
Under the bill, a critical employee is defined as an individual who works full-time for at least 75% of the tax year (as certified by such individual’s employer) as a
healthcare professional, law enforcement officer, member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew, firefighter, eligible child care provider, family child care provider, or personal or homecare aid. Further, under the bill, such individual’s primary place of employment for the majority of hours worked during the tax year must be in a qualified opportunity zone. (A qualified opportunity zone is an economically distressed community where new investments may be eligible for certain tax preferences.)
This bill increases the child tax credit from $2,000 per qualifying child to $3,500 per qualifying child (or $4,500 per qualifying child under six years old).
The bill also
increases the age limit of a qualifying child to 17 years old (from 16 years old), extends the threshold at which the child tax credit begins to phase out ($200,000 for single taxpayers or $400,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly), extends the child tax credit identification requirements applicable to qualifying children, and increases the refundable portion of the child tax credit for certain taxpayers with fewer than three qualifying children.