Weekly Column: Tax Relief Helps Young Families Thrive

Parenthood is a unique gift. Every day, parents across Idaho make memories helping their children take their first steps, teaching them how to drive and enjoying everyday activities with them. While we treasure these experiences as individuals, the family as an institution is also critical for the maintenance of our society, as it teaches us the moral, religious and civic lessons that help us to be good neighbors and citizens. The Constitution itself reminds us of these truths when it says our government exists for the benefit of “our Posterity,” not just ourselves.

As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I work to ensure our tax code reflects these ideas. In addition to lowering tax rates across the board, the Working Families Tax Cuts signed into law last summer included many provisions to help young and growing families better afford child care, education, adoption and more.

In passing the law, Republicans prevented the largest tax hike in American history, which would have cost the average family of four $1,700 this year and put tens of thousands of Idaho jobs at risk. Instead, we not only made lower tax rates permanent for all Idahoans but also made the Child Tax Credit bigger—$2,200 per child in 2025—and made sure it will keep up with inflation. Hundreds of thousands of Idaho families claim this important credit, and its permanent expansion will save them hundreds of dollars every year.

Senate Republicans made it more affordable to have a child by expanding and making permanent the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Tax Credit, which encourages businesses to provide PFML. New parents can use that time off to welcome their newborn into the world without missing a paycheck. The law also makes the adoption tax credit refundable up to $5,000 so more families can receive help covering costs associated with adoption.

Working parents can benefit from enhanced tax relief to help offset the cost of child care, a significant financial strain for many families. Under the new law, businesses are further incentivized to provide child care to their employees due to a permanent expansion of the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit. In addition, the law increased the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and the Dependent Care Assistance exclusion.

Another major expense for many families, education, is also addressed. The new Education Freedom Tax Credit incentivizes contributions to scholarship granting organizations that help families afford costs associated with elementary and secondary education, empowering parents to choose the schools that will best serve their children. In addition, improvements to 529 savings accounts will make both traditional and alternative education options more affordable.

The bill also creates an opportunity to jumpstart the American Dream for young children. New Trump Accounts offer families a tax-advantaged way to save for a child’s education, help them purchase their first home or prepare for long-term financial security. Children born this year are eligible for an initial $1,000 deposit from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and many workplaces and philanthropists are offering additional contributions.

Even provisions that are not directly related to family life are motivated by this same focus on the welfare of future generations, because most of the tax relief was made permanent. When today’s children become tomorrow’s workers, business owners and parents, they will still benefit from the pro-family, pro-growth tax policies established by the Working Families Tax Cuts. Sound policy and strong families are alike in that way—they both require decisions that create the conditions for success long after they are made.

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