Testing an Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for Single Adults: Year 1 of Paycheck Plus

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit given to workers with low to moderate incomes, and has been expanded over the years to become one of the country’s most effective anti-poverty policies for low-income workers with children. This brief from the MDRC provides an update on the Paycheck Plus demonstration, which is testing the effects of a more generous EITC-like earnings supplement for low-income single adults in New York City. It describes the implementation of the program during the first year and supplement receipt rates during the 2015 tax season. The brief also discusses the forthcoming test of Paycheck Plus in Atlanta, Georgia, which will provide evidence of its effects in a different context from New York City.