Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: S1450 – Idaho Child Tax Credit Sunset Removal
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 1450 makes a single targeted change to Idaho’s existing child tax credit law (Section 63-3029L): it removes the expiration date that would have ended the credit on January 1, 2026. By deleting the phrase ‘and before January 1, 2026,’ the bill converts the $205-per-qualifying-child nonrefundable tax credit from a temporary provision into a permanent one. The credit applies to Idaho resident taxpayers for each qualifying child as defined under federal IRC Section 24(c).
The bill includes an emergency declaration and retroactive application to January 1, 2026, ensuring Idaho families filing 2026 tax returns can claim the credit without any gap in coverage. Without this fix, families would have lost access to the credit for the 2026 tax year before the legislature could act through normal channels.
All other provisions of the existing law remain unchanged: the $205 per-child amount, the residency requirement, the proportional credit for part-year residents, and the rules governing divorced or separated parents claiming the credit for custodial and noncustodial arrangements.
Overall Assessment
This bill permanently extends Idaho’s $205-per-child nonrefundable tax credit by removing the sunset clause that would have terminated the benefit after the 2025 tax year. Idaho families with qualifying children retain a direct reduction in their state income tax liability for 2026 and all future years. The emergency clause and retroactive effective date of January 1, 2026 ensure no family loses the credit due to a legislative gap.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (1)
Removing the sunset date makes the child tax credit permanent without adding new bureaucracy, regulations, or government spending programs. The change reduces the state's tax burden on families in a straightforward, low-overhead manner consistent with limited government and fiscal restraint.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
This bill amends a tax credit provision and has no bearing on voting, elections, political participation, or citizen engagement with government processes.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill's sole change is removing an expiration date from a child tax credit statute. It contains no provisions related to school funding, curriculum, parental choice in education, or any other education policy matter.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill addresses individual income tax credits for families with children and has no connection to agricultural markets, farm policy, water law, or rural economic issues.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
This is a tax code amendment with no provisions touching water appropriation, water rights, dam management, or federal interference in state water policy.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
The bill makes no changes related to natural resource management, environmental stewardship, federal land policy, or wilderness areas. It is confined entirely to individual income tax law.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill contains no provisions on energy production, utility rates, energy independence, or energy research. It is limited to a child tax credit amendment.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill has no connection to INL operations, nuclear research, technology transfer, or any related federal facility matters.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill does not address property ownership, takings, development rights, or any regulation affecting private property. It is a personal income tax provision.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill makes no changes to land management, federal land transfers, or state administration of public lands. It is confined to individual tax law.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill has no provisions related to fish and game management, hunting and fishing rights, predator control, or wildlife policy of any kind.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
While the credit puts money back in family budgets, the bill's change targets individual household tax relief rather than business regulation, commerce, labor markets, or transportation infrastructure. The economic effect is real but indirect and does not directly engage the commercial and industrial policy concerns this metric addresses.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill is a tax code amendment and does not address healthcare delivery, health insurance, Medicaid, or welfare program eligibility. Families may use the credit proceeds as they choose, but the bill itself imposes no health or welfare policy changes.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (1)
By deleting 'and before January 1, 2026,' the bill permanently preserves a $205 tax credit for every qualifying child claimed by Idaho resident taxpayers, directly reducing the tax burden on families raising children. This gives parents greater financial resources to care for their children without a government program intermediary, and the retroactive effective date ensures no family loses the benefit for the 2026 tax year.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
The child tax credit applies to taxpayers with qualifying children and has no provisions affecting retirement, senior services, Medicare, or policies specific to older Idahoans.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill is a tax statute amendment with no provisions related to law enforcement, criminal justice, gun rights, or judicial processes.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to military affairs, veterans, border security, or National Guard deployment. It is limited to state income tax law.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill makes no changes to judicial selection, retention elections, or constitutional interpretation standards. It is a tax code amendment.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill has no provisions touching the free exercise of religion, religious organizations, conscience protections, or any religious liberty matter.