Consumers
Individual Tax Rebates
Date:
February 13, 2008
Policy Area:
Fiscal Policy
Economic Target:
Consumers
Action Type:
Tax Break
Maximum Amount:
$106.00 billion
Amount Spent:
$96.00 billion
Deficit Impact:
$106.00 billion This law (H.R. 5140) provided tax rebates to certain individuals filing for tax years 2007 or 2008. For individuals with a income-lax liability or an earned income of at least $3,000, rebates were between $300 and $600. For couples filing joint tax returns, the tax rebates were between $600 and $1,200. In addition, individuals or couples received a $300 tax credit for each child living in their household. The law stipulated that the rebates would be phased out for incomes exceeding $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples filing together.
Source:
Notes:
Maximum amount and deficit impact indicates CBO estimates for Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2009. Amount spent indicates money distributed as of 12/31/2008 (http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp1351.htm).
Alternative Minimum Tax Patch
Date:
February 17, 2009
Who:
IRS
Policy Area:
Fiscal Policy
Economic Target:
Consumers
Action Type:
Tax Break
Maximum Amount:
$85.00 billion
Amount Spent:
$20.00 billion
Deficit Impact:
$70.00 billion The alternative minimum tax provision in the federal tax code, while originally added to prevent a small group of high-income earners from owing little or no taxes through the taking of many deductions, has in recent years come to affect upper-middle-income earners because it lacks inflation indexing. This alternative minimum tax "patch," which applies to 2009 only, raises the level of income that is exempt from the alternative minimum tax.
Notes:
Positive numbers in table indicate spending, negative numbers indicate savings or revenue. Maximum amount is the peak cumulative cost of a provision over the period 2009-2019, though the provision may eventually cost less by 2019. In the case of the Alternative Minimum Tax Patch, the peak cumulative cost would occur in 2010, creating a maximum cost of approximately $85 billion. Deficit impact is the final cost of a provision from 2009-2019. Amount spent reflects CRFB calculated continuations of disbursal rates since last reported on Recovery.gov in June 2010 and extrapolated to the present by CRFB staff.
Making Work Pay Tax Credit
Date:
February 17, 2009
Who:
IRS
Policy Area:
Fiscal Policy
Economic Target:
Consumers
Action Type:
Tax Break
Maximum Amount:
$116.00 billion
Amount Spent:
$74.80 billion
Deficit Impact:
$116.00 billion Tax credit that provides total savings of up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples. The credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000. The credit will be distributed over time through slight reductions in employer withholding amounts.
Notes:
Positive numbers in table indicate spending, negative numbers indicate savings or revenue. Maximum amount is the peak cumulative cost of a provision over the period 2009-2019, though the provision may eventually cost less by 2019. Deficit impact is the final cost of a provision from 2009-2019. Amount spent reflects CRFB calculated continuations of disbursal rates since last reported on Recovery.gov in June 2010 and extrapolated to the present by CRFB staff.
Direct Assistance to Individuals
Date:
February 17, 2009
Who:
Congress
Policy Area:
Fiscal Policy
Economic Target:
Consumers
Action Type:
Direct Spending
Maximum Amount:
$134.00 billion
Amount Spent:
$96.85 billion
Deficit Impact:
$134.00 billion Provisions are part of the $787 billion “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” a set of policies designed to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis. The act contains significant spending for direct worker assistance, infrastructure, healthcare, education, aid to states, and other areas, and tax breaks for individuals and corporations.
Notes:
Deficit impact is CBO's estimate of deficit impact for 2009-2019. Amount spent as of 8/18/2010.
*In the Budget and Economic Update in August 2009 (http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/105xx/doc10521/08-25-BudgetUpdate.pdf), CBO estimated that an additional $7 billion would be made available for unemployment compensation, increasing the maximum amount for Direct Assistance. In the January 2010 baseline (http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/01-26-Outlook.pdf), CBO estimated that an additional $21 billion would be made available for uemployment compensation.
^In the January 2010 baseline (http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/01-26-Outlook.pdf), CBO estimated that an additional $34 billion would be made available for food stamps, reflecting the lower projections of inflation in the economic outlook.
Home Affordable Modification Program
Date:
February 18, 2009
Policy Area:
Sector Policy (Non-Financial)
Economic Target:
Consumers
Economic Target:
Housing
Action Type:
Regulatory Change
Maximum Amount:
$50.00 billion
Amount Spent:
$28.76 billion
Deficit Impact:
$28.76 billion To stabilize the housing market, the Treasury announced on February 18 the Home Affordable Modification Program, part of the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA), to offer assistance to millions of homeowners by reducing mortgage payments. The program gives homeowners the opportunity to modify their mortgages as well as an opportunity to refinance GSE loans, which can lower monthly payments.
Notes:
Maximum amount is the level of funding announced by the Treasury Department. Amount spent represents the total amount allocated to all mortgage servicers as of 8/31/2010, as reported on the Treasury's transaction reports.
Deficit impact is derived from CBO's subsidy rate for the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (100%), which requires no repayments and therefore constitutes a full subsidy. This information was most recently reported in CBO's report on TARP transactions through June 17, 2009.
