Senate committee hears child care tax credit package

The Missouri Senate is now considering HB 269 – legislation to increase access to safe, affordable, high-quality child care. The House passed the bill in February with strong bipartisan support.

HB 269, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph), is an innovative tax credit package that would increase the capacity of child care providers and help businesses offer child care benefits to support the retention and recruitment of employees.

This week, Shields presented her bill to the Senate Emerging Issues and Professional Registration Committee.

“It incentivizes taxpayers, both businesses and individuals, to invest in the private child care industry so all families can afford safe, reliable, quality care for their children,” Shields said. “This bill supports home-based child care, family home child care and center-based child care. It allows communities to develop the child care that they need and want, not government.”

HB 269 introduces three tax credit components aimed at tackling Missouri’s child care shortage:

• Child Care Contribution Tax Credit: Provides a 75% tax credit for businesses and individuals who donate to a licensed child care provider.
• Employer-Provided Child Care Assistance Tax Credit: Offers a 30% tax credit for employers who provide on-site or off-premises child care for their employees.
• Child Care Providers Tax Credit: Offers a credit to child care providers for employee payroll tax withholdings or capital improvements.

Support for the bill spans various industries, with major employers such as JE Dunn Construction, Cox Health and BJC HealthCare backing the proposal. Representatives from these companies joined the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and other members of the Missouri Chamber Federation to testify in support of the legislation.

Kara Corches, Missouri Chamber president and CEO, emphasized the bill’s impact.

“We know that Missouri’s economy loses out on over $1.35 billion annually because of our child care crisis,” Corches said. “This bill is a comprehensive approach to address that crisis and drive new capital into our child care infrastructure.”

Child care issues have become a significant barrier to workforce participation. When responding to the Missouri Chamber’s 2025 CEO Survey, 85% of business leaders said the expense and difficulty in finding child care keeps a significant number of Missourians out of the workforce.

Earlier this month, the Senate Emerging Issues and Professional Registration Committee passed SB 455, a companion bill sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Hough (R- Springfield).