Daycare Tax Credit for Deployed Military Families Endorsed Unanimously by State House

OKLAHOMA CITY (20 March 2017) – Legislation that would authorize a state income tax credit for daycare expenses incurred by families of deployed military personnel sailed through the House of Representatives on Monday.

House Bill 1312 by Rep. Collin Walke would authorize a tax credit for daycare expenditures on a qualifying dependent child during any period when a member of the armed services is deployed “to another location in support of combat, contingency operation, or natural disaster” for 30 or more consecutive days, during which time the service member is unable to be accompanied by his/her family at government expense.

The proposed credit would start in tax year 2018 and could not be used to reduce the claimant’s tax liability “to less than zero,” HB 1312 decrees.

Also, the legislation would apply to dependent children 12 or younger at the time the daycare expenses were paid, and permissible expenses would be limited to the care of a child “for not more than 12 hours per day.”

The bill defines “servicemember” to mean a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the Reserve Corps of the nation’s Armed Forces, or the Oklahoma National Guard.

“This credit would be a valuable benefit to military families whenever a parent is deployed to a combat zone or a disaster area for an extended period,” said Walke, D-Oklahoma City.

HB 1312 was approved 89-0 by the House and will be referred to the Senate for consideration.

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MIKE W. RAY
Media Director, Democratic Caucus
Oklahoma House of Representatives
(405) 962-7819 office
(405) 245-4411 mobile