Add Connecticut refundable child tax credit (HB 5134) by DTrim99 · Pull Request #7432 · PolicyEngine/policyengine-us

DTrim99 · 2026-02-18T21:07:01Z

Summary

Implements Connecticut HB 5134 (2026 session) as a reform - a refundable child tax credit against the personal income tax.

Bill Reference: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/TOB/H/PDF/2026HB-05134-R00-HB.PDF

Credit Details

Parameter	Value
Amount per child	$600
Maximum children	3
Child age limit	Under 18
Income threshold (single/HOH/separate)	< $100,000
Income threshold (joint/surviving spouse)	< $200,000
Refundable	Yes

Files Added

Parameters (parameters/gov/contrib/states/ct/refundable_ctc/):

in_effect.yaml - Toggle to enable the reform (default: false)
amount.yaml - $600 per child
max_children.yaml - Maximum 3 children
age_limit.yaml - Children must be under 18
income_threshold.yaml - AGI thresholds by filing status

Reform (reforms/states/ct/refundable_ctc/):

ct_refundable_ctc.py - Reform logic
__init__.py - Module exports

Tests (tests/policy/reforms/states/ct/refundable_ctc/):

ct_refundable_ctc.yaml - 10 comprehensive tests

Test Coverage

Single filer with children under income limit ✓
Joint filers under income limit ✓
Child count capped at 3 ✓
Income at/over threshold disqualifies ✓
No children = no credit ✓
Reform toggle (in_effect) works ✓
Age limit enforcement (18+) ✓

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Implements CT HB 5134 (2026 session) as a reform: - $600 per qualifying child (under age 18) - Maximum 3 children - Income threshold: <$100k (single/HOH/separate) or <$200k (joint) - Refundable credit against CT personal income tax Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

DTrim99 · 2026-02-18T21:07:15Z

Implementation Notes

This reform implements CT HB 5134 as a contributed policy (not enacted law). Key design decisions:

Parameters in contrib/: Since this is a proposed bill, all parameters are in gov/contrib/states/ct/ with an in_effect toggle defaulting to false
Income eligibility: The bill specifies AGI must be "less than" the thresholds for all filing statuses (strict < comparison)
Child definition: Uses is_tax_unit_dependent with an age limit parameter (set to 18) - not tied to federal CTC qualifying child definition
Filing status thresholds:
- JOINT and SURVIVING_SPOUSE: $200,000
- SINGLE, HEAD_OF_HOUSEHOLD, SEPARATE: $100,000

The reform can be enabled by setting gov.contrib.states.ct.refundable_ctc.in_effect to true in the PolicyEngine interface.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

PavelMakarchuk · 2026-02-19T00:26:17Z

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/contrib/states/ct/refundable_ctc/amount.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+description: Connecticut refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.


Suggested change

description: Connecticut refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.

description: Connecticut proposed to provide the following refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.

Similar style for other parameter descriptions

PavelMakarchuk · 2026-02-19T00:27:15Z

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/contrib/states/ct/refundable_ctc/age_limit.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+description: Maximum age for a child to qualify for the Connecticut refundable child tax credit. Children must be under this age.


One sentence, description as below

PavelMakarchuk · 2026-02-19T00:28:05Z

policyengine_us/parameters/gov/contrib/states/ct/refundable_ctc/age_limit.yaml

+description: Maximum age for a child to qualify for the Connecticut refundable child tax credit. Children must be under this age.
+
+values:
+  2026-01-01: 18


I dont see the 18 in the bill

PavelMakarchuk · 2026-02-19T00:28:53Z

policyengine_us/reforms/states/ct/refundable_ctc/ct_refundable_ctc.py

+            if not p.in_effect:
+                return tax_unit("adjusted_gross_income", period) * 0
+


Dont check for in-effect in formula

PavelMakarchuk · 2026-02-19T00:29:43Z

policyengine_us/reforms/states/ct/refundable_ctc/ct_refundable_ctc.py

+    def modify_parameters(parameters):
+        parameters.gov.states.ct.tax.income.credits.refundable.update(
+            start=instant("2026-01-01"),
+            stop=instant("2030-12-31"),


Only until 2030?

- Update parameter descriptions to use active voice one-sentence format - Remove in_effect check from formula (handled at reform registration level) - Extend parameter modification end date from 2030 to 2035 - Remove test for in_effect=false (tested at reform layer, not formula) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

DTrim99 · 2026-02-20T17:34:21Z

Fixes Applied ✅

🟡 Should-Address Issues Fixed

✅ Parameter descriptions updated - All 5 parameter files now use active voice, one-sentence format:
- amount.yaml: "Connecticut proposed to provide the following refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child."
- age_limit.yaml: "Connecticut proposed to set the following age limit for qualifying children under the refundable child tax credit."
- income_threshold.yaml: "Connecticut proposed to set the following federal adjusted gross income thresholds..."
- in_effect.yaml: "Connecticut proposed to make the refundable child tax credit effective when this parameter is true."
- max_children.yaml: "Connecticut proposed to limit the refundable child tax credit to the following maximum number of children."
✅ Removed in_effect check from formula - The in_effect parameter is now handled at the reform registration level (create_ct_refundable_ctc_reform), not in the formula itself. This is the correct pattern for contributed reforms.
✅ Extended end date from 2030 to 2035 - Per user instruction, the parameter modification end date has been extended.
✅ Removed obsolete test - Removed the "Credit is zero when not in effect" test since this behavior is now controlled at the reform registration layer, not the formula.

Note on age_limit parameter

The age limit of 18 is implied by other organization research and House Dem press releases but not stated explicitly in the bill. This is documented but kept in the implementation.

Verification

✅ All 9 tests pass locally
✅ Code formatted

Ready for re-review.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

DTrim99 and others added 2 commits February 18, 2026 16:49

Move CT refundable CTC tests to contrib folder

e82f199

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Move VA HB979 tests to contrib folder

38fcc54

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

DTrim99 requested a review from PavelMakarchuk February 18, 2026 21:50

PavelMakarchuk requested changes Feb 19, 2026

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Add Connecticut refundable child tax credit (HB 5134)#7432

Add Connecticut refundable child tax credit (HB 5134)#7432
DTrim99 wants to merge 4 commits intoPolicyEngine:mainfrom
DTrim99:ct-refundable-ctc

DTrim99 commented Feb 18, 2026

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DTrim99 commented Feb 18, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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DTrim99 commented Feb 20, 2026

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		@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
		description: Connecticut refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.

	description: Connecticut refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.
	description: Connecticut proposed to provide the following refundable child tax credit amount per qualifying child.

		@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
		description: Maximum age for a child to qualify for the Connecticut refundable child tax credit. Children must be under this age.

		if not p.in_effect:
		return tax_unit("adjusted_gross_income", period) * 0

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DTrim99 commented Feb 18, 2026

Summary

Credit Details

Files Added

Test Coverage

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DTrim99 commented Feb 18, 2026

Implementation Notes

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PavelMakarchuk Feb 19, 2026

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DTrim99 commented Feb 20, 2026

Fixes Applied ✅

🟡 Should-Address Issues Fixed

Note on age_limit parameter

Verification

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