Download this fact sheet (Updated Nov. 2020; 2 pages; pdf)

For more information on the Working Families Tax Credit:
Link to our 4-page policy brief (Jan. 2020)
Link to our 20-page report (Feb. 2019)
Link to an earlier version of this fact sheet (Oct. 2019)
Descarga esta hoja informativa hoja informativa en Español (Dec. 2019; 2 pages; pdf)
Find out how the 2019 expansion of the WFTC helped your community here (link)

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on New Mexico’s workers, families, and businesses. Expanding the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is an investment in a healthier New Mexico that is also key to getting our economy back on track. It will help workers meet basic needs and put more money back into the hands of New Mexico’s hard-working families – and into the businesses where they will spend it.

Benefits of the WFTC

  • Top beneficiaries include essential workers and people of color, who have been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19
  • Proven to incentivize work
  • Improves physical and mental health by reducing financial hardship and giving families more money to spend on food and other household necessities
  • Businesses benefit too as the refunds are spent quickly and locally
  • It’s a common-sense, bi-partisan solution to help New Mexico families survive through and thrive after the pandemic


A growing body of research shows that tax policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) improve the health and well-being of the families and children who receive them. An expanded WFTC is a powerful economic stimulus that will promote health during the pandemic by helping families who are struggling meet their basic needs.

Credits like the EITC and the WFTC are linked to improvements in:

Parental Health
● Better mental health among mothers
● Lower stress from reduced financial hardship
● Better overall health and decreased physical and mental stress among mothers with a high school diploma or less
● Better physical health among men and women (ages 21 to 50) due to increased fruit consumption, decreased meat consumption, improved cholesterol, fewer colds, and more

Maternal and Infant Health
● Better pre- and post-pregnancy health
● Fewer babies born at an unhealthy low weight

Child Health
● Increased insurance coverage rates among children (ages 6 to 14)
● Better child health status as reported by mothers
● Children have access to more regular meals

School Performance
● Improved test scores, particularly in math
● Boosted high school graduation rates
● Improved academic achievement that’s equivalent to getting two extra months of schooling

College Attendance
● Boosted college enrollment rates
● Increased college graduation rates as well as total years of education completed

Earnings in Workforce
● Higher long-term growth in earnings for single mothers (a mean increase of 17% in average annual earnings)
● Increased hours worked and wages earned in women with children

Retirement Benefits
● Increased retirement benefits earned through Social Security

Download this fact sheet (Updated Nov. 2020; 2 pages; pdf)