# 119-hr-10499: Meals for Communities Tax Credit Act

119-hr-10499, Meals for Communities Tax Credit Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-16] (R-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10499
- As of: 2026-10-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10499
- Congress: 119
- Title: Meals for Communities Tax Credit Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-17
- Sponsor: Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-16] (R-IL)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-04

## Summary

**A 50% tax credit for donated prepared meals** would let restaurants and retail food establishments claim a new business credit when they give cooked meals to qualifying charities. The credit is tied to each meal’s value and has per-meal and per-taxpayer caps. - Restaurants and retail food establishments could claim a credit equal to 50% of the fair market value of prepared meals they donate, with a $50,000 annual cap per taxpayer. - Qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofits that receive donated meals would see more in-kind food from donors who use the credit, while most private foundations are excluded as recipients. - Each meal’s value for the credit is limited to $14 and that cap is scheduled to adjust for inflation after 2026.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] (R-NY), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tax credit for donated prepared meals: mixed, high. If enacted, this bill would create a nonrefundable tax credit for restaurants and retail food stores. You would get a credit equal to 50% of the fair market value of prepared meals you donate each year. Each meal’s value would be capped at $14, and that cap would be indexed for inflation for taxabl…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act
- 119-hr-2854: Neighborhood Homes Investment Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-10499 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10499)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10421)
- [119-hr-2854: Neighborhood Homes Investment Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2854)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10499 (as of 2026-10-04).