A credit comes off the tax itself, dollar for dollar, and a refundable one can pay you more than you owe. These pieces cover the federal child and earned income credits and the states that add their own.
· 9 min read
Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia add their own earned income credit to the federal one for tax year 2026. For a single parent of two earning $20,000, the refundable add-on runs from $289 in Oklahoma to $6,219 in the District.
· 9 min read
Sixteen states pay their own child tax credit for tax year 2026, twelve of them in cash. A head of household earning $40,000 with children aged 2 and 4 collects $2,807 from Minnesota's, $2,000 from New Jersey's or Vermont's, and nothing from California's, Maryland's or Oregon's.
· 11 min read
Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia give a deduction or credit for 529 contributions in tax year 2026. For a single filer earning $65,000, a $5,000 deposit is worth nothing in North Dakota and $1,000 in Indiana, and nine states take another state's plan.