6 - Making a Case for Year-Round EITC Delivery

Summary

Chapter 6 makes the case for periodic delivery of the EITC. Returning to the Advance Earned Income Tax Credit as a failed experiment in periodic delivery, the chapter describes the advantages of periodic payment, outlines the pros and cons of different possible periodic payment structures, and identifies challenges that would arise in a transition from lump sum to periodic distribution. It describes how decoupling the credit from income tax return filing would reduce low-income taxpayer reliance on unfavorable borrowing practice and remove the incentives for return preparers to engage in misbehavior. It also proposes ways that the IRS might improve its procedures for verifying benefit eligibility, and the need to balance that with an application process that is simple for taxpayers to understand.