Work

Race, marriage, and the earned income tax credit

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: It is increasingly recognized that race interacts in important ways with taxation, including taxation of the family. In this paper, we quantify the racial disparity in the magnitude of the “marriage penalty” or “marriage bonus” in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) using individual micro-level data from the Current Population Survey from 1992 to 2019. We find that low-income Black households experience on average a 22 percent larger EITC marriage penalty than low-income white households, even when their family income levels are largely the same. We also suggest ways to mitigate these racial disparities.

Source: Review of Economics of the Household

DOI: 10.1007/s11150-025-09775-4

Authors: J. Sebastián Leguizamón, Susane Leguizamón, James Alm

Institutions: Western Kentucky University, Tulane University

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,390