The Effects of the Monthly and Lump-Sum Child Tax Credit Payments on Food and Housing Hardship

We investigate the effects of the expanded 2021 Child Tax Credit (CTC) on material hardship among households with children over April 2021–May 2022, using the Census Household Pulse Survey and difference-in-difference analyses of household types with different eligibility. Monthly CTC payments (July–December 2021) reduced food insufficiency by at least 2.4 pp (20 percent); the spring 2022 lump-sum payment reduced the likelihood that households were behind on rent by at least 1.2 pp (10 percent). Results are consistent with spending lump sums differently from monthly payments, the former going disproportionately toward arrears and the latter toward ongoing food/nutrition costs.