Is reapplying to the same PhD program looked down upon by admissions? Do committees look down on a candidate reapplying to a PhD program one year after being denied? My field is social science, if that impacts anything. I currently work at a research org and am wondering if it's worth it to apply this year, although I know my CV will be stronger the following year (theoretically given my current position the CV will keep getting stronger every year, though). While I feel very ready from a personal standpoint and want to go now, I'm debating if it's worth applying now, with the potential ramification of re-applying should I not get in anywhere.
There are generally three types of candidates for admissions:


Clear-cut admits
Clear-cut rejects
Borderline cases


If you're in the first group, you'll get in and don't need to worry about reapplying. If you're in the second group, not much time will be spent on your application, which means that you're not likely to be "remembered" in future cycles, and your application will be re-evaluated the following year.

The main issue is if you're a borderline case—that's generally where much of the discussion time by an admissions committee is spent. If you're going to reapply, it's likely that someone will remember that you've applied before, and they will want to see what's changed. So it may help you in getting in the following year if they thought you were close but came up "just short."