PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] · R–TN
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 30, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-21 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act would create an Internal Revenue Service liaison to help businesses understand and expand child care benefits for employees. The liaison would provide education about available tax benefits, help businesses communicate with the agency, and recommend changes to Congress. Outreach would particularly address information barriers for small businesses. These are proposed duties, not evidence that employers would expand benefits.
This Act may be cited as the Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall appoint within the Internal Revenue Service a Business Child Care Liaison.
provide public education and assistance related to the expansion of employer-provided child care benefits
help facilitate communication between businesses and the Internal Revenue Service
identify and recommend to Congress potential legislative and administrative changes to increase practices that promote employer-provided child care benefits
particularly reducing information barriers for small businesses.
The bill would add the liaison position to the tax code. The IRS Commissioner would have to appoint the liaison without regard to title 5 provisions relating to appointments in the competitive service or Senior Executive Service, but could choose whether to create an office with additional staff. The referenced hiring provisions are not supplied, so the precise requirements displaced cannot be established here. The liaison would receive basic pay at the rate for level V of the federal Executive Schedule; the text supplies no dollar amount.
Section 7803 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall appoint within the Internal Revenue Service a Business Child Care Liaison. The appointment shall be made without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or Senior Executive Service. At the Commissioner's discretion, the Commissioner may create an office with additional support staff to assist the Business Child Care Liaison in carrying out the duties described in this subsection.
The Business Child Care Liaison shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
The liaison would connect the IRS with businesses considering child care benefits, advocates, state agencies, tribal organizations, child care referral agencies, and other stakeholders. The liaison would also help businesses discuss practical challenges and opportunities involving federally encouraged child care benefits with the IRS.
act as a liaison between the Internal Revenue Service, employer-provided child care benefit advocates, businesses considering providing or expanding child care benefits for their employees, State workforce boards, State economic development agencies, child care resource and referral agencies, tribal organizations (as defined in section 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), and other stakeholders, including child development experts
help facilitate communication between businesses and the Internal Revenue Service about the operational challenges and opportunities that exist to improve the use of Federally incentivized child care benefits such as dependent care assistance programs (as so defined), Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, and the credit under section 45F
Public education and assistance would cover ways employers can support child care, including dependent care assistance programs, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, workplace or subsidized care, stipends, nearby partnerships, shared arrangements, backup care, and referral services. The liaison would also issue a fact sheet explaining employer-provided child care tax benefits and their rules for people who prepare tax returns.
provide public education and assistance related to the expansion of employer-provided child care benefits through the establishment and maintenance of practices that promote employer-provided child care benefits, including the use of dependent care assistance programs (as defined in section 129(d)), on-site or subsidized child care, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, child care stipends, near-site child care partnerships, shared and pooled child-care arrangements, backup child care, and resource and referral services
issue a fact sheet for use by tax return preparers listing the different tax benefits for employer-provided child care and the appropriate rules for each such benefit
Within 120 days after enactment, the liaison would have to establish, in collaboration with the General Services Administration, a homepage link on SAM.gov to a landing page on that website helping businesses understand the listed child care tax programs and their rules. The required content would discuss recruitment, retention, productivity, and worker well-being; this requirement does not establish that those outcomes would improve.
in collaboration with the General Services Administration, within 120 days of the date of the enactment of this subsection, establish a link on the homepage of SAM.gov, which allows website visitors to access a landing page on the SAM.gov website which is tailored to helping businesses learn about utilizing dependent care assistance programs (as so defined), Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, and the credit under section 45F, resources for understanding the rules and regulations with these programs, and the benefits of utilizing these programs on worker recruitment, retention, productivity, and well-being
The liaison would recommend legislative and administrative changes to Congress and coordinate outreach with federal agencies and state and local governments. That outreach would inform employers and employees about employer-provided child care benefits, with particular attention to small businesses' information barriers.
identify and recommend to Congress potential legislative and administrative changes to increase practices that promote employer-provided child care benefits
coordinate with other Federal agencies and officials, including the Secretary, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Education, or the designee of any such individual, and State and local governments on outreach and education to inform employers and employees about the possibilities and benefits of employer-provided child care benefits and particularly reducing information barriers for small businesses.
The IRS Commissioner would have to seek the liaison's advice when developing tax-code regulations or interpretations concerning employer-provided child care benefits.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall solicit advice and input from the Business Child Care Liaison in developing regulations or interpretations of this title that relate to employer-provided child care benefits.
Annual reports would be due by December 31, starting in the calendar year after enactment, covering the fiscal year ending that calendar year. Reports would go to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees, with simultaneous copies to the IRS Commissioner and other appropriate officials. The Commissioner would have to make them widely accessible to the public.
Not later than December 31 of each calendar year beginning after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Business Child Care Liaison shall submit a report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives on the activities of the Business Child Care Liaison during the fiscal year ending during such calendar year.
The Business Child Care Liaison shall submit a copy of each report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and any other appropriate official, at the same time such report is submitted pursuant to such subparagraph.
The Commissioner shall make a copy of each report submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) available and widely accessible to the public.
Reports would summarize assistance requests, describe the liaison's work, evaluate its effectiveness, identify significant problems and possible solutions, and recommend administrative or legislative action.
summarize the assistance requests received by the Business Child Care Liaison during the fiscal year ending during the calendar year of such report
describe the activities conducted by the Business Child Care Liaison, including the activities described under subparagraphs (B) and (F) of paragraph (2), and evaluate the effectiveness of the Business Child Care Liaison during such fiscal year
describe any significant problems the Business Child Care Liaison has identified during such fiscal year and ways to mitigate such problems
contain recommendations for any administrative or legislative action which may be appropriate to resolve barriers to, and to incentivize, practices which promote employer-provided child care benefits
Reports would also describe progress in employer-provided child care benefits, using data updated at least annually on the listed tax benefits. Required measures would include the number of employers using them and a breakdown by employer size, along with other relevant information the liaison deems appropriate.
describe progress related to employer-provided child care benefits in businesses in the United States, including data updated at least annually on the utilization of dependent care assistance programs, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, and the credit under section 45F, in particular— (I) the number of employers utilizing these tax benefits, (II) a breakdown of the size of employers utilizing these tax benefits, and (III) other relevant information as deemed appropriate by the Business Child Care Liaison.
The supplied September 30, 2026 source snapshot records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on September 21, 2026. It does not establish subsequent action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-30T17:16:47Z. 2026-09-21: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2026-09-21: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-21. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials, or an amendment's attachment history.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials. Formal earmark status cannot be fully assessed without accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The complete supplied introduced text contains a position-specific statutory exemption warranting scrutiny under this category. Classification does not establish improper purpose or an unjustified benefit.
The IRS Commissioner's authority to appoint the Business Child Care Liaison would receive a narrow hiring exception: this appointment would be made without regard to title 5 provisions relating to appointments in the competitive service or Senior Executive Service. The exception directly supports staffing the liaison position created for the bill's child care outreach policy. It is a specific exemption from referenced appointment rules, beyond merely creating or administering the office; it names no private recipient. Because the referenced rules are absent, the precise requirements displaced and practical effects cannot be established from the supplied text.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall appoint within the Internal Revenue Service a Business Child Care Liaison. The appointment shall be made without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or Senior Executive Service.
provide public education and assistance related to the expansion of employer-provided child care benefits through the establishment and maintenance of practices that promote employer-provided child care benefits
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 30, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI