Letting New Mothers Claim the Child Tax Credit for the Tax Year in Which They Were Pregnant (H.R. 5006)

What is H.R. 5006?

(Updated September 24, 2018)

This bill would extend the child tax credit to cover unborn children. If the child is born between January 1-April 14 and issued a Social Security number (SSN) before the due date of tax filing, this bill would allow the mother to claim the child tax credit for the prior tax year. A double child tax credit would be allowed if a child is born between April 15 and December 31, or if they were born earlier in April but received their SSN too late, so those families would still get the net effect of an extra year of the credit. Eligibility depends solely on when birth / issuance of a SSN occurs without regard to the date of conception, so there’d be no need for the IRS to verify a pregnancy.

Argument in favor

Expecting mothers should be able to claim the child tax credit because the work, care, and costs associated with motherhood start well before childbirth. Letting them claim the child tax credit in the year of their pregnancy as well as after the child is born will help new families financially.

Argument opposed

The child tax credit should only be available to parents after a child is born. Letting expecting mothers claim an extra year of the credit once their child is born would take too much tax revenue away from the government.

Impact

Pregnant mothers and their families; and the IRS.

Cost of H.R. 5006

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced this bill to expand the child tax credit to parents while they’re preparing to bring a new child into the world:

“It’s simple, expectant mothers and fathers deserve the same financial assistance and tax credit benefits to begin planning for a new child as parents blessed with children already born. The work, care, and costs associated with motherhood begin long before a child is born, and this legislation gives moms and their families an opportunity for a better start.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) added:

“Expanding this tax credit will provide more resources to expectant mothers and help with the growing costs of having a child. I was raised by a single mom who worked full-time at a factory. This kind of credit would have made a big difference for us, and it will make a big difference for many other Hoosier families.”

This legislation has the support of 17 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Republicans.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) Press Release
  
• National Right to Life News Today
  
• Townhall