Can I calculate state-level taxes with this skill?

Yes, it supports all 50 states plus DC, and includes specific logic for specialized jurisdictions like New York City.

What programs can be modeled using these patterns?

You can model federal income tax, payroll tax, EITC, Child Tax Credit, SNAP (food stamps), WIC, Social Security, and various state-specific programs.

How does the skill handle complex household structures?

It uses a standardized 'Situation Dictionary' structure that ensures all entities (tax units, families, households) remain synchronized during calculation.

What is the primary purpose of the PolicyEngine-US skill?

It provides Claude with the specific patterns and syntax needed to use the PolicyEngine-US Python library for simulating the impact of taxes and benefits on US households.

PolicyEngine-US Tax & Benefit Analysis

Name: PolicyEngine-US Tax & Benefit Analysis
Author: PolicyEngine

byPolicyEngine

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Data Science & ML

Provides standardized patterns for modeling US federal and state tax and benefit systems using PolicyEngine-US microsimulations.

About

This skill equips Claude with the domain-specific knowledge required to interface with PolicyEngine-US, the open-source microsimulation model for the United States tax and benefit system. It provides structured patterns for creating complex household 'situations,' calculating tax liabilities, and estimating eligibility for programs like SNAP, EITC, and the Child Tax Credit. This is an essential tool for policy analysts, researchers, and developers who need to automate fiscal calculations, analyze the impact of policy reforms, or perform marginal tax rate analysis across diverse economic scenarios.

Key Features

Generates structured household situation dictionaries for precise tax and benefit modeling.
Facilitates policy reform analysis by modifying specific law parameters programmatically.
Includes specialized handling for complex demographic variables and NYC-specific tax rules.
Enables parameter sweeps (axes) for visualizing benefit cliffs and marginal tax rates.
2 GitHub stars
Provides implementation patterns for federal and state-level income and payroll taxes.

Use Cases

Building automated tax and benefit calculators with accurate federal and state logic.
Performing comparative economic research across different US states and household types.
Analyzing the distributional impact of proposed legislative policy changes.

About

Key Features

Generates structured household situation dictionaries for precise tax and benefit modeling.
Facilitates policy reform analysis by modifying specific law parameters programmatically.
Includes specialized handling for complex demographic variables and NYC-specific tax rules.
Enables parameter sweeps (axes) for visualizing benefit cliffs and marginal tax rates.
2 GitHub stars
Provides implementation patterns for federal and state-level income and payroll taxes.

Use Cases

Building automated tax and benefit calculators with accurate federal and state logic.
Performing comparative economic research across different US states and household types.
Analyzing the distributional impact of proposed legislative policy changes.