In 2025, Urban Institute created a blueprint that states are using to increase uptake of critical tax credits, helping residents keep more of what they’ve earned. That research is already paying off for Maryland families.

State versions of the earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC) are proven tools for boosting income and reducing hardship. Yet every year, eligible families miss out because they are unaware these credits exist or have trouble navigating eligibility rules.

In 2025, Urban Institute partnered with the Comptroller of Maryland to help state leaders close that gap. The goal was simple and urgent: understand why eligible residents weren’t claiming state tax credits and identify practical, evidence-based strategies to reach them.

Urban found that nearly 100,000 Maryland households—18 percent of eligible filers—did not claim the state EITC in tax year 2023. Uptake gaps were largest among communities already facing structural barriers, including single parents and nontraditional caregivers, young adults, noncitizens and mixed-status households, and Black, Latine, and Asian American and Pacific Islander residents. Although many people knew about federal tax credits, far fewer were aware of Maryland’s, and limited access to affordable, trusted tax filing support often stood in the way.

Urban translated these insights into a practical strategy playbook outlining how states can pair outreach with access, build trust through community partners, and embed evaluation into implementation.

The work is already shaping real policy and practice change. Urban’s findings are informing the Maryland Comptroller’s fiscal year 2026 outreach priorities, including the state’s “Earned It” tax credit awareness campaign (PDF), helping ensure that public investments in tax relief reach the people they’re intended to support.