Say Tax Break Will Offset Rising Costs
City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and State Sen. Simcha Felder announced state legislation that will ease the cost of child care for middle class families in New York City.
The Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit, first proposed in Speaker Quinn’s 2013 State of the City address, will increase the child care tax credit offered to low-income families and expand the credit to include mid history dle-class households.
Quinn and Felder made the announcement on Sunday, Apr. 21, with The Children’s Aid Society, United Neighborhood Houses, the Chil- dren’s Defense Fund and parents.
“We must rein in the skyrocketing cost of child care and make it affordable for all New Yorkers,” said Quinn. “The Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit will ease the cost of childcare in New York City-the highest in the nation-and will provide expanded assistance to low-income and middle class parents with young children and I thank Senator Felder and Assembly Member [Herman D.] Farrell for sponsoring this important legislation.”
According to Quinn, New York has the most expensive infant day care costs in the country. In 2012, the average cost of day care was $14,000.
The legislation, sponsored by Felder and Farrell, will make child care more affordable for parents by providing expanded assistance to New Yorkers with children under the age of four. Currently, only households with adjusted gross incomes of $25,000 or less can benefit from the full tax credit for child care. The expanded credit will offer tax relief to parents with incomes of up to $170,000.
More than 100,000 families will benefit from the expanded child care credit, which would be equal to the applicable percentage of the Federal tax credit for dependent care services. The percentage would be:
– 90 percent for incomes of $45,000 or less;
– for incomes between $45,001 and $60,000, the credit phases down from 90 percent to 50 percent;
– 50 percent for incomes between $60,001 and $150,000; and
– for incomes between $150,001 and $175,000, the credit phases down from 50 percent to zero.
With child care credits from all levels of government, middle-class families will receive tax credits of up to $1,000 for one child and $2,000 credit for two or more children.
