{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.speaker.gov/general/increased-standard-deduction-child-tax-credit", "The Increased Standard Deduction + Child Tax Credit", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Paul Ryan", "R000570", "www.speaker.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Since the House-Senate conference committee was formed\u00a0last week, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act conferees\u00a0have been working to reconcile the House and Senate bills to develop a final package of historic tax reform. And today, the conference committee is holding a meeting on the\u00a0insert space\u00a0legislation. Two of the most important provisions in both the House and Senate versions of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are the increased standard deduction and the increased child tax credit.\nWhat do these provisions mean? More money for hardworking American families.\nStandard Deduction\nThe standard deduction is money that is not taxed by the federal government at all\u2014also known as the \u201czero bracket.\u201d Under current law, the standard deduction for individuals is $6,350 and the standard deduction for joint filers is $12,700.\nThe House plan nearly\u00a0doubles the standard deduction for individuals and families\u2014to $24,000 for joint filers\u2014significantly growing people's \"zero bracket.\" The Senate plan takes the same approach.\nChild Tax Credit\nIt\u2019s safe to say that having kids costs money. Diapers, clothes, education . . . we don\u2019t need to go into it. A family of five\u2014two parents and three kids\u2014 living off an $80,000 income is significantly less wealthy than a couple without children living off an $80,000 income. And our tax code should reflect that disparity more.\nThat\u2019s why the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increases the child tax credit. It\u2019s pretty simple: Parents doing the hard, costly work of raising kids should get some extra relief come April 15. The House plan increases the child tax credit by $600 per child, and adds a new family credit of $300 for each parent and non-child dependent. The Senate plan also increases the child tax credit.\nNo matter where the conference committee lands on the exact numbers in the final text, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be significantly increasing both the standard deduction and the child tax credit. These two provisions are the heart of the tax cut\u00a0for middle-income families. Together, they spell relief for people and families at all income levels. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) Chief reinforced this point as well, \"There is a\u00a0tax benefit to all income categories\u00a0as we measure them.\"\nWatch the conference meeting live at 2 p.m.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.speaker.gov/general/increased-standard-deduction-child-tax-credit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.417625928297639, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}