Congress quietly doubles tax credits for low-wage workers starting 2026
H.R. 2800 — Boost the Middle Class Act · Filed by Gabriel (Gabe) Vasquez (D-NM) · Introduced Apr 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill substantially increases the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable tax benefit for low- and moderate-income working people. It roughly doubles the maximum credit amounts across all filing categories, raises the income thresholds at which the credit phases out, and adjusts the inflation-indexing baseline to 2025–2026, making the credit more generous and available to higher-earning workers. The changes take effect for tax year 2026.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to increase the dollar amounts and income thresholds of the EITC, a refundable tax credit for working people. It is a straightforward tax-benefit expansion with no riders or hidden provisions.
What the text implies
- Inflation-indexing reset to 2025–2026 baseline means future EITC adjustments will compound from a higher floor, permanently increasing the credit's real value relative to a 2015 or 1995 baseline.
- Phaseout threshold increases (e.g., $11,610→$24,992) mean workers earning up to ~$25k/year will now qualify, potentially covering some workers previously ineligible or in the phase-out range.
- Refundable credit structure means many recipients will receive payments exceeding their tax liability, functioning as a direct income supplement rather than a tax reduction.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The EITC is a direct cash benefit to working people below and slightly above the poverty line. Doubling the credit amounts and raising income thresholds expands the benefit to more workers and increases the size of refunds, putting more money in the pockets of low-wage earners and their families.
Who stands to gain
- low-wage workers and families earning under ~$60,000 annually
- self-employed individuals with earned income below EITC thresholds
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code §32, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), U.S. Department of the Treasury
Where it stands
- Apr 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 9, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,201 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-21.
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