H.R. 10512: Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act

This bill would create a new Business Child Care Liaison position within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The goal is to have one person, and possibly a small support office, focused on helping businesses understand and use federal tax benefits related to employer-provided child care.

What the liaison would do

The liaison would act as a connector between the IRS and outside groups, including:

• Businesses that already offer child care benefits or are thinking about offering them
• State workforce boards and economic development agencies
• Child care resource and referral agencies
• Tribal organizations
• Child development experts
• Other relevant stakeholders

The bill says the liaison would be responsible for public education and assistance on employer-provided child care benefits. This would include information about:

• Dependent care assistance programs
• On-site or subsidized child care
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Child care stipends
• Near-site child care partnerships
• Shared or pooled child care arrangements
• Backup child care
• Resource and referral services

Other duties

The liaison would also:

• Issue a fact sheet for tax return preparers explaining the different tax benefits for employer-provided child care and the rules that apply to each one
• Help businesses and the IRS communicate about operational issues and opportunities related to these benefits
• Work with the General Services Administration to add a link on the SAM.gov homepage that leads to a page explaining these child care tax benefits and related rules
• Recommend legislative or administrative changes to increase the use of employer child care benefits
• Coordinate with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and the Small Business Administration to improve outreach and reduce information barriers, especially for small businesses

Reporting requirements

The liaison would have to submit a yearly report to Congress. The report would include:

• A summary of help requests received
• A description of outreach and other activities
• An assessment of how effective the liaison has been
• Any major problems identified and possible ways to address them
• Recommendations for administrative or legislative changes
• Data on how employer child care benefits are being used, including:
  • The number of employers using these tax benefits
  • A breakdown by employer size
  • Other relevant information the liaison considers useful

The IRS commissioner would also be required to make these reports publicly available.

Practical effect

In plain terms, the bill would not itself change the tax rules for child care benefits. Instead, it would create a dedicated IRS contact point to explain the existing rules, promote awareness of them, gather information about how they are being used, and suggest future changes.

Relevant Companies

None found