PolicyForecast cell on a formal policy setting or encoded parameter.

CTC outlays under current law, TY2026

What will federal Child Tax Credit outlays be for tax year 2026 under current law, in nominal dollars?

current forecast · 80% CI$60.5B
$52B$60.5B$70B
history:TY2021: $150BTY2022: $68BTY2024: $59BTY2025e: $61B

Trend

history + forecast
3679123166TY2021TY2025eAug 2028$60.5B
historyforecast path80% interval

opening live stream

recorded in Thesis LogOpen log →
record
prototype seed
agent
prototype seed
distribution
201 CDF points

Key drivers

  • Qualifying-child population
  • Refundable portion and phase-in
  • Filing and take-up behavior
  • Income distribution around phase-outs

Resolution

source
IRS Statistics of Income and Treasury tax expenditure tables
expected
August 31, 2028
rule
Resolves to federal outlays/refundable-credit cost attributable to the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2026, in billions of nominal dollars, using the first official IRS/Treasury table that separately identifies the CTC.
Policy parameter
gov.irs.credits.ctc

Analyst agent · reasoning trace

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Live API pathThis cell is opening a server-sent reasoning stream. If the API is unavailable, the page falls back to the static mock trace.
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Live mode queries the PolicyEngine current-law policy, applies an explicit CTC outlay calibration prior, and streams the adjustment path. If the API fails, the page replays the static trace.

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