DC lawmakers should act now to make the District’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) available to undocumented workers.
Modeled after the federal tax credit by the same name, the EITC helps workers and families with low incomes keep more of what they earn to stay make ends meet. Last year, DC lawmakers expanded the local credit to make it the most generous in the nation, but it excludes more than 5,000 low-paid working households with at least one person who is undocumented.
District lawmakers can make this tax credit available to undocumented workers by extending it to extending it to those filing with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and help ensure that economic security is for everyone, no exceptions.
Read more about how making DC’s EITC inclusive of all income-eligible workers, regardless of immigration status, would advance racial equity and a more progressive tax system at a relatively low cost.
DC’s Earned Income Tax Credit: The Most Generous in the Nation, But Not Most Inclusive
DC’s EITC Helps Thousands Cover Basic Needs
In 2021, DC Council expanded DC’s EITC from a 40 percent match of the federal credit to a 100 percent match by 2026. The increase in family income will be profound. Undocumented workers and their families stand to miss out even more after this major multi-year expansion to the value of the DC EITC.
Fact sheet: Moving Towards Tax Equity and Racial Equity
The EITC is a Powerful Tool for Racial, Gender, and Economic Equity
Black and brown residents – especially women – are disproportionately likely to be in low wage work and eligible for the EITC. In fact, nearly seven in 10 eligible EITC filers in DC are Black and about that many EITC filers or their spouses are women. In DC, 90 percent of people who are undocumented identify as Black, Latino, or Asian. By excluding workers because of their immigration status, DC undermines racial equity.
Fact sheet: DC’s Earned Income Tax Credit: A Powerful Tool for Racial, Gender, and Economic Equity