Earned Income Tax Credit: one-time child tax credit payment.

(1) The Personal Income Tax Law, beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income tax credit against personal income tax and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. The law provides that the amount of the credit is calculated as a percentage of the eligible individual's earned income and is phased out above a specified amount as income increases and provides alternative calculation factors under specified circumstances. The law requires, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, specified earned income amounts, phaseout amounts, and the amount of disqualified income that would disallow this credit to be recomputed annually in the same manner as the recomputation of income tax brackets, as prescribed. This bill, upon appropriation, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, would revise the alternative calculation factors and phaseout amounts and remove the earned income threshold at which the phaseout ends, thereby increasing the amount of eligible taxpayers. (2) The Personal Income Tax Law allows a young child tax credit against the taxes imposed under that law and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability to a qualified taxpayer in a specified amount multiplied by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as provided. Existing law defines "qualified taxpayer" for this purpose to include an eligible individual who has a qualifying child, as defined, and is allowed an earned income tax credit, as specified. That law limits the definition of "qualifying child" for this purpose to a child younger than 6 years of age. This bill, for taxable years for which an appropriation is made by the Legislature, would increase the amount of the young child tax credit, would allow a young child tax credit to a qualified taxpayer for each qualifying child, would expand the definition of "qualifying child," as specified, and would expand the definition of "qualified taxpayer," as specified.