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119-hr-6634119th CongressWALLET

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a refundable childhood education tax credit with monthly advance payments.

Sponsored By: Representative Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6]

Introduced

Summary

Would create a refundable Monthly Childhood Education Tax Credit (MCETC) that pays families a monthly allowance for children ages 2 to under 5 who live with and receive care from the filer and are enrolled in an early childhood education program. It would also set up monthly advance payments, a multilingual online portal, and rules for eligibility, payment delivery, and contesting competing claims.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Advance payments, disputes, and protections for families

If enacted, the IRS would make estimated monthly advance childhood education payments while you are presumptively eligible. You would elect advance payments through an online portal and get them by electronic transfer to authorized or Treasury accounts. Your final credit on the return would be reduced by the total advance payments you received that year. Excess advance payments could raise your tax only for listed causes like fraud, big income changes, or ineligible months. The bill would require one-time retroactive payments in some successful challenges and allow a 3-month grace payment (once per 36 months) and a hardship payment up to 6 months for domestic violence, serious illness, disaster, or similar hardship. Most monthly advance payments would be protected from federal offsets, levies, garnishment, and bankruptcy, and the IRS would mark and route payments to enable those protections. The IRS would also get fast procedures, tie-breaker rules, and limited return-data sharing to decide competing claims. Some rules start on enactment; some payment rules reference January 1, 2025 or apply to months after December 31, 2025.

Monthly childhood education credit for families

If enacted, you would be able to claim a refundable monthly childhood education credit for each child ages 2 to under 5. The baseline amount is $667 per child each month. For months after December 31, 2025, the $667 would increase with the CPI versus 2024. The monthly amount is cut proportionally for household income above 300% of the poverty line. A child must live with you > half the month, be age 2–4 at month start, get unpaid care from you, and be enrolled in an early childhood program. The child’s name and taxpayer ID must be on your return and issued by the return due date. This would apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6]

LA • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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