Minnesota House Bill HF1437

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/24/25
• Refer: 2/24/25

Caption

Stillbirth individual income tax credit modified.

Summary

HF1437 modifies Minnesota’s individual income tax credit for stillbirths. The bill keeps the existing $2,000 credit but clarifies and broadens the statutory definitions used to determine eligibility, including defining “certificate of birth,” “eligible individual,” and “stillbirth.” It also expressly covers certain nonresident spouses of residents who are members of the armed forces or the United Nations, and it recognizes stillbirths occurring outside Minnesota when no Minnesota certificate was issued. The bill applies retroactively to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, and it creates a special refund window allowing claims for prior years beginning after December 31, 2015 and before January 1, 2022 to be filed until January 1, 2026. In practical terms, this means taxpayers who were eligible for the credit in earlier years but did not claim it in time may still seek refunds under the amended rules.

Impact

The bill amends Minnesota Statutes section 290.0685, the stillbirth income tax credit statute, by adding definitions and revising eligibility language. It expands administrative and tax-filing consequences by reopening the refund period for certain prior tax years, which could require the Department of Revenue to process additional amended returns or refund claims. The affected parties are eligible parents who experienced a stillbirth, including some nonresident military families and individuals with stillbirths occurring outside Minnesota.

Sentiment

The available record does not include committee testimony or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate tone. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be a targeted, noncontroversial tax relief and clarification bill intended to help affected families access an existing credit and to correct or broaden eligibility rules. The absence of recorded opposition in the provided materials suggests the bill may have been viewed as a narrow technical and compassionate adjustment rather than a major policy dispute.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or voting history. Potential areas of discussion, based on the text alone, could include the retroactive application of the credit, the extended refund deadline, and the scope of eligibility for nonresident spouses and out-of-state stillbirths. Any disagreement would likely center on administrative cost, retroactivity, or how broadly the credit should apply, but no named opponents or supporters are identified in the available materials.