Family First Act Proposes Child Tax Credit Boost to $4,200 for Young Children and New Credit for Expectant Mothers
Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) have introduced legislation that would raise the Child Tax Credit well above its current level. The Family First Act (H.R. 353 in the House, S.1382 in the Senate) would raise the credit to $4,200 per child under age six and $3,000 for children six through seventeen, make it fully refundable, and add a new $2,800 refundable credit for expectant mothers at 20 or more weeks of gestation. The bill has not passed; the $2,200-per-child credit established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025 remains the current law for your 2025 tax return.
What Happened?
The Family First Act: What It Proposes
Rep. Blake Moore introduced H.R. 353 on January 13, 2025. Sen. Jim Banks introduced the Senate version (S.1382) in April 2025. As of May 2026, both bills remain in committee. Neither has received a floor vote. Republican support in the Senate has grown through 2025 and into 2026, with members citing the need to go further than the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for working families.
The proposal’s core provisions:
- $4,200 per child under age six (up from $2,200 under current law)
- $3,000 per child ages six to seventeen
- Up to six children covered per family
- Fully refundable: not capped at the current $1,700 Additional Child Tax Credit limit
- $2,800 refundable credit per unborn child at 20 or more weeks of gestation
What the Family First Act Would Trade Away
The proposed credit increases come with trade-offs. The bill eliminates several provisions that some households currently use:
- Earned Income Tax Credit: Eliminated entirely
- Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Eliminated
- Head of Household filing status: Eliminated
For most U.S. expats, the elimination of the EITC and CDCTC is unlikely to apply. Foreign income and physical presence requirements already disqualify most expats from the EITC, and the CDCTC requires qualifying care expenses that most expats do not claim. Single expat parents who file as Head of Household would face a real offset, however, since that status would no longer exist.
What Is Already Law: The OBBBA Baseline
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025) raised the Child Tax Credit and added new requirements. Here is how the current law compares to what the Family First Act proposes:
| Provision | Current Law (OBBBA) | Family First Act (Proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Max credit per child (under 6) | $2,200 | $4,200 |
| Max credit per child (6 to 17) | $2,200 | $3,000 |
| Refundable portion | Up to $1,700 (ACTC) | Fully refundable |
| Children covered | No cap | Up to 6 per family |
| Pregnancy credit | None | $2,800 per unborn child (20+ weeks) |
| Parent SSN required | Yes (at least one) | Not yet specified |
| Permanent and inflation-indexed | Yes | N/A (proposed) |
The OBBBA numbers govern your 2025 return filed now in 2026.
Who Does This Affect?
- Families with children under age six would see the largest potential gain. The jump from $2,200 to $4,200 per young child represents a $2,000-per-child increase per year.
- Expectant mothers abroad would gain a new $2,800 refundable credit for each pregnancy at 20 or more weeks, a provision with no equivalent in current law.
- Expats using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion may be missing some or all of the refundable Child Tax Credit under current law. This issue applies now, regardless of whether the Family First Act ever passes.
- Single parents filing as Head of Household would lose that filing status under the bill’s current language, partially offsetting the credit increase.
- Lower-income expats who qualify for the EITC would see those benefits eliminated, a real downside for a smaller group of qualifying expat households.
What Does This Mean for U.S. Taxpayers Abroad?
The Family First Act is a proposal, not a law
Every credit amount in the bill could change before any vote, and neither chamber has advanced it out of committee. Do not adjust your tax strategy around figures that have not been enacted.
If you use the FEIE, you may be missing some or all of the refundable Child Tax Credit
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion removes foreign earned income from your return. Because the Additional Child Tax Credit is calculated on earned income, excluding that income reduces or eliminates the credit. This issue exists under the current law, regardless of whether the Family First Act ever passes. Some expats who switch from the FEIE to the Foreign Tax Credit find they can claim the Additional Child Tax Credit, up to $1,700 per qualifying child. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends on your specific income, the foreign taxes you pay, and your family situation.
The SSN parent rule already applies
Under the OBBBA, at least one parent on a joint return must have a work-eligible Social Security Number to claim the CTC. This is a change from prior law, which required only the child to have an SSN. Review your eligibility before filing if this applies to your household.
If the Family First Act passes, families with young children should reassess immediately
A $4,200 credit per child under six is a materially different planning scenario than a $2,200 credit. Greenback will update this article if the legislation advances.
What Should You Do Next?
- If you have qualifying children and are filing your 2025 return: Confirm your child has a valid SSN issued before your return’s due date (including extensions). Children with only an ITIN do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.
- If you are currently using the FEIE, talk to a qualified tax professional about whether switching to the Foreign Tax Credit for 2025 could unlock the Additional Child Tax Credit for your family. The FEIE vs. Foreign Tax Credit comparison walks through the key trade-offs.
- If you want to claim the credit from abroad, Form 8812 is used to calculate and claim the Additional Child Tax Credit. Our Child Tax Credit guide for expats covers every eligibility requirement and the interaction with the FEIE in detail.
- If you are expecting a child, the Family First Act’s $2,800 pregnancy credit has not yet been enacted. File based on current law. Once your child is born and has an SSN, the standard $2,200 credit applies for the tax year in which they were born.
- If you file as Head of Household and would be affected by the bill, the Family First Act eliminates Head of Household filing status entirely. If you are a single expat parent who currently uses this status, the change would affect your standard deduction and tax brackets, partially offsetting the credit increase. Do not restructure your filing approach around this possibility; file under the current law and monitor whether the bill advances.
A specialist who works with expat families every day can review your specific situation and confirm whether a FEIE-to-FTC switch makes financial sense for your household.
No matter how complex your family’s return, we can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Family First Act is proposed legislation introduced in the House as H.R. 353 by Rep. Blake Moore and in the Senate as S.1382 by Sen. Jim Banks. It would raise the Child Tax Credit to $4,200 per child under six and $3,000 for older children, make it fully refundable, and add a $2,800 credit for expectant mothers. As of May 2026, it has not passed and has not received a floor vote in either chamber. File your 2025 return using the current law.
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion removes qualifying foreign earned income from your return, which can reduce or eliminate your eligibility for the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. The ACTC is calculated on earned income; if that income is excluded, the credit disappears. Expats who switch from the FEIE to the Foreign Tax Credit often find that the refundable credits they unlock outweigh the exclusion benefit, especially with multiple qualifying children.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, both the qualifying child and at least one parent (or one spouse on a joint return) must have a work-eligible Social Security Number to claim the CTC or ACTC. Children with only an ITIN do not qualify. If your child was born abroad, apply for their SSN through a U.S. embassy or the Social Security Administration. The SSN must be issued by the return’s due date, including any extensions.
For families with multiple children under age six, the credit increase from $2,200 to $4,200 per child would be the most material change. The elimination of the EITC and CDCTC is unlikely to affect most U.S. expats, who are generally already disqualified from those benefits by foreign income and physical presence rules. The Head of Household elimination is the most direct downside for single expat parents. Whether the credit increase outweighs that loss depends on the individual’s income, filing status, and number of qualifying children.
The bill does not specify an effective date in its current form. No effective date exists to plan around because the bill has not passed and has not received a floor vote. If it advances, the applicable tax year would be determined by the final bill language. Greenback will update this article if the legislation progresses.
Yes. The proposal caps coverage at six qualifying children per family, which is a change from current law. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there is no cap on the number of qualifying children for the Child Tax Credit. The six-child cap would primarily affect large families. For households with six or fewer children, the per-child credit increase from $2,200 to $4,200 (for children under six) would be significant. For families with more than six children, some children would no longer be covered.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Consult a qualified tax professional regarding your specific situation.
