Talking Points: Child Care Tax Credits

Key Takeaways

• Along with robust federal funding, tax reform is an important tool in helping more working families find and afford the child care options they need. 
• The tax code contains several provisions designed to help working families with child care expenses, but most haven’t been updated in decades and, as a result, have not kept pace with the cost of care. 
• Modernizing the tax code would help hard-working families pay for the child care they need to work or to look for work.
• There is  strong, bipartisan support among both voters and legislators for updating child care provisions in the federal tax code
• And with major provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expiring next year, Congress has a prime opportunity to make these changes, helping to ease the cost burden for families today while continuing to advocate for the policies that will  improve and strengthen federal programs in the longer term.

Use the messaging and talking points below to guide conversations and advocacy around child care tax credits: