wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1564 > Original Bill
Beginning January 1, 2026, a person is allowed a credit against the tax imposed in this chapter equal to 100 percent of the costs related to providing child care assistance to employees.
The credit claimed may not exceed the tax that would otherwise be due under this chapter. Refunds may not be granted in place of credits. Any amount of credit earned under this section not claimed by the taxpayer in one calendar year may be carried forward for no more than one calendar year immediately following the year that the credit was earned.
No person may claim a credit against taxes due under both this chapter and chapter 82.16 RCW for the same child care assistance costs.
The department must administer the credit. To claim a credit under this section, the person applying must complete an application for credit based on qualifying expenditures incurred by the eligible person the previous calendar year. The department must rule on applications within 60 days of receipt. The department may extend the time of processing an application upon notice to the person and by providing the person an explanation of why the application processing cannot be completed on time.
To claim a credit under this section, a person must electronically file with the department all returns, forms, and other information the department requires in an electronic format as provided and approved by the department. Any return, form, or information required to be filed in electronic format under this section is not filed until received by the department in an electronic format. For purposes of this subsection, "returns" has the same meaning as "return" in RCW 82.32.050.
For purposes of this section, "child care assistance" means:
The portion of an employee's salary or wage that is provided by the employer to the employee to be used to offset the employee's expenses related to child care, including tuition; and
Expenses related to the costs for the employer to provide in-house child care for employees.
Credits may be earned under this section until January 1, 2037.
This section expires January 1, 2038.
Beginning January 1, 2026, a person is allowed a credit against the tax imposed in this chapter equal to 100 percent of the costs related to providing child care assistance to employees.
The credit claimed may not exceed the tax that would otherwise be due under this chapter. Refunds may not be granted in place of credits. Any amount of credit earned under this section not claimed by the taxpayer in one calendar year may be carried forward for no more than one calendar year immediately following the year that the credit was earned.
No person may claim a credit against taxes due under both this chapter and chapter 82.04 RCW for the same child care assistance costs.
The department must administer the credit. To claim a credit under this section, the person applying must complete an application for credit based on qualifying expenditures incurred by the eligible person the previous calendar year. The department must rule on applications within 60 days of receipt. The department may extend the time of processing an application upon notice to the person and by providing the person an explanation of why the application processing cannot be completed on time.
To claim a credit under this section, a person must electronically file with the department all returns, forms, and other information the department requires in an electronic format as provided and approved by the department. Any return, form, or information required to be filed in electronic format under this section is not filed until received by the department in an electronic format. For purposes of this subsection, "returns" has the same meaning as "return" in RCW 82.32.050.
For purposes of this section, "child care assistance" means:
The portion of an employee's salary or wage that is provided by the employer to the employee to be used to offset the employee's expenses related to child care, including tuition; and
Expenses related to the costs for the employer to provide in-house child care for employees.
Credits may be earned under this section until January 1, 2037.
This section expires January 1, 2038.
This section is the tax preference performance statement for the tax preferences contained in sections 1 and 2, chapter . . ., Laws of 2025 (sections 1 and 2 of this act). This performance statement is only intended to be used for subsequent evaluation of the tax preferences. It is not intended to create a private right of action by any party or to be used to determine eligibility for preferential tax treatment.
The legislature categorizes these tax preferences as ones intended to provide tax relief for certain businesses or individuals, as indicated in RCW 82.32.808(2)(e).
It is the legislature's specific public policy objective to provide reduced tax liability for businesses that provide child care assistance for employees.
If a review finds that the tax preferences increase the number of businesses in the state that provide child care assistance for employees by 15 percent, then the legislature intends to extend the expiration date of the tax preferences.
In order to obtain the data necessary to perform the review in subsection (4) of this section, the joint legislative audit and review committee may refer to any data collected by the state.