# Is the Federal government mandating that I have another child? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157 "2012-03-29T14:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157/41 "2012-04-03T11:33:54Z")
There is a fundamental dif between incentives and penalties. Every deduction or credit is an incentive in some degree or another. The only penalty that I can think of on the tax form is for taking money out a retirement plan early… and that is more in the nature of a disincentive. The tax law doesn’t mandate anything other than general compliance. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157/42 "2012-04-03T19:20:59Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Then you’re doing it wrong. You can toss an 18-yr old out of your house. He doesn’t have to cost you anything. Any aid you give him at this point is of your own free will, not mandatory. So why should the tax payer subsidize you and your charity? Yeah, but not a 17-year old. And a 17-year old child is already old enough to lose the credit. Maximum age of the child for the credit is 16. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157/43 "2012-04-04T13:23:44Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I don’t have kids and have only ever claimed myself on my taxes, so I have a clarification question to ask. You said your AGI was effectively going to go up by $1k next year. That’s not the same thing as your tax liability increasing by $1k, unless you’re in a 100% tax bracket. And if, indeed, this is just a $1k increase to your _taxable income_ (as opposed to a $1k increase in your _tax_ _liability_), at worst (for a theoretical one-percenter with no tax shelters) this would cost you $350. More likely, if you’re middle-class with a more modest income, it will cost you a couple hundred bucks at the most. > > Which did you mean? You are correct. The Child Tax Credit is an above the line credit that changes the AGI. It is not a tax deduction. However, my point still stands. However, paltry the credit is, I believe it similar to the ACA “mandate”. In order to get the credit, I must have a child under the age of seventeen. If I don’t have such a child (and in 2012, I won’t), then my tax goes up. If I don’t have a qualifying health insurance policy, then my tax goes up (if ACA were in effect). If the Child Tax Credit is okay, then the ACA mandate should be okay, too. If the ACA mandate is not okay, then there is an awful lot in the tax code that should be tossed out as well. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157/44 "2012-04-04T13:25:01Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Yeah, but not a 17-year old. And a 17-year old child is already old enough to lose the credit. Maximum age of the child for the credit is 16. I suppose that at 16, I should make the boy go out and get a job. Foolish me, thinking that his education was more important. Here in Texas, the governor and legislature are making it quite clear that his education is not important at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157/45 "2012-04-04T14:15:59Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I suppose that at 16, I should make the boy go out and get a job. Foolish me, thinking that his education was more important. And this is a decision you have to pay for. So what? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-federal-government-mandating-that-i-have-another-child/617157.md?page=2)