Expanding Child Care Access Act of 2025
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Expanding Child Care Access Act of 2025
This bill establishes a temporary (for seven years) refundable tax credit for certain expenses incurred to establish and operate a qualified family child care provider. (Conditions and limitations apply.)
Under the bill, a qualified family child care provider is a child care provider that
provides child care services at the taxpayer's primary residence for at least two children (other than the children of such taxpayer) for a significant portion of the tax year,
receives compensation for such child care services, and
is licensed or registered to provide such child care services by the state in which such services are provided.
The bill allows a taxpayer that operates a qualified family child care provider to claim a tax credit of up to $5,000 for
child care licensing fees;
child care supplies (e.g., diapers, food, toys, and learning materials);
liability insurance;
fencing (including installation costs);
outdoor playground equipment (including installation costs);
furniture necessary to provide child care;
the salary of an employee (other than the taxpayer);
printers and computers;
professional training required by the state for licensing or registration; and
remediation or renovation of a primary residence to meet state licensing or registration requirements.
The tax credit may only be claimed once and may not be claimed for expenses for which another tax deduction or tax credit is allowed.
Finally, the bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to issue guidance on the tax credit, including guidance related to information reporting requirements.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 13, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 13, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Herbert Conaway (D-NJ) introduced it on February 13, 2025, and 39 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 39 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 13, 2025, 574 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 574 days ago, on February 13, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers