Childless Adults Are Lone Group Taxed Into Poverty (dollars, education, money)

[freemkt]

Federal income tax parameters are generally designed to ensure that federal income and payroll taxes don’t tax people into — or deeper into — poverty. The glaring exception to this principle is low-income childless adults, about 7.5 million of whom are taxed into or deeper into poverty by federal taxes.[1] The main reason is that they are largely excluded from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is too small (or, for many, non-existent) to offset their income taxes and the employee share of payroll taxes.

Childless Adults Are Lone Group Taxed Into Poverty | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

[freemkt]

This thread is inspired by a talk radio rant about how EITC is a welfare program, as opposed to a rebate of federal (income and payroll) taxes paid. My first thought is that it really is a tax rebate for childless workers, for whom EITC is minimal. To verify this, I went to an online EITC calculator and played with the numbers. Turns out that EITC for childless adults is designed to fully rebate payroll taxes for childless workers up to $6610 income, without giving childless workers any 'free' money - unlike EITC for workers with children, which pays out a lot of free money. Above $6610, there is no further EITC increase for childless workers, which means that their payroll taxes are no further rebated to them.

Policy Basics: The Earned Income Tax Credit | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

[rbohm]

if you dont like it, then get married, have a couple of tax deductions.......eerrrr kids, and buy a house.

[sholomar]

It's true single white men are the most discriminated class in society and it's not really fair that we have to pay for women to raise kids through all these increasing ways like giving them 3 months off when they give birth paid from the employer, but raising kids is expensive and if you're a single man and don't have 5 figures in your bank account you're doing it wrong. I've piled up almost 6 figures by now and I only pull in 50-60K per year. Women are expensive. Kids are expensive. In modern society, they are spoiled and demand a lavish lifestyle full of vacations all over the world (then complain about the environment and how we are using so many fossil fuels, not thinking of the fact that all this entertainment they enjoy so much requires these fossil fuels)

Ways to get ahead... invest fully into your 401K whatever your employer will match. Get into a stock purchase program if your employer offers it. I've been putting 10% of my paycheck in since 2011 and have not sold a share and that alone has ballooned to $50K in value. Buy a home with a USDA loan and take the tax credit option and get yourself some money back every year, then take the standard deduction. Itemizing doesn't net you much unless you are rich. Stop going to the bars every weekend and laying out $100 on drinks.. that really adds up.. there are people where I work who admit they've spent $20K to $30K doing that over the years.. I have a smoker that has spent more than $80K the last 15 years in cigarettes between him and his wife...

[Angie682]

If you don't have kids you are saving a fortune. EIC is only for LOW income people. My kid's daycare costs as much as my mortgage. I'm divorced and don't qualify for EIC because I make too much money and the tax write off for daycare is a few hundred dollars on my taxes when I pay over 12k a year in daycare expenses -- big deal.

So you can have kids, the expense that comes with them, a low income and EIC OR a good job, pay a fortune in daycare costs and not qualify for EIC. The choice is yours, but EIC is not some windfall because those people are barely scraping by -- a step above welfare if you qualify for that.

Everyone in America has a responsibility to develop themselves fully and contribute to society. Contribute. Don't be a taker. Get an education and be a productive member of society. Quit blaming others for where your bad life choices lead you.