Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Terri Sewell introduced the Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act of 2015 (H.R. 1780), to make quality child care more affordable for millions of working-class families. 

“Access to affordable, quality child care should not be a financial hurdle that proves too high for working families to cross. Families living below the federal poverty level spend, on average, one-third of their income on child care expenses.

“The Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act would make child care more affordable for millions of working parents by increasing child care tax credits and making the credit fully refundable for low-income families.

“Expanding child care tax credits will boost our economy, and provide working parents with the security they need to care for their families. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to provide much needed relief for working families.”

Highlights of the Bill

The Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act of 2015 will modernize the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), enacted in 1976, by expanding the size and scope of child care tax credits.

The Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act increases the amount of eligible child care expenses to $8,000 for one child or $16,000 for two or more children, up from $3,000 for one child and $6,000 for two or more children under the CDCTC.

Working class families would be eligible for tax credits of $2,800 or $5,600, depending on the number of children for whom they incur qualifying expenses.

Working parents who currently receive no benefits from existing child care tax credits -- because their income is too low -- would be eligible for a federal refund under the Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the companion bill in the Senate.

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