SB 1382, titled the Family First Act, would substantially expand and restructure federal tax benefits for families beginning in tax year 2026. The bill permanently increases the child tax credit to $4,200 for each child under age 6 and $3,000 for each other qualifying child under age 17, makes the credit fully refundable, and moves it into the refundable credits portion of the tax code. It also creates a new refundable credit for pregnant mothers of up to $2,800 for a qualifying unborn child at least 20 weeks gestational age, subject to income phaseouts and physician certification requirements.
The bill also revises several other tax provisions affecting families and individuals. It simplifies and expands the earned income credit for taxpayers with children, eliminates the additional dependent exemption after 2025, removes head-of-household filing status, excludes children from the dependent care credit, and permanently denies the individual deduction for state and local taxes. The legislation includes numerous conforming amendments across the Internal Revenue Code and related statutes to reflect the new credit structure and the removal of head-of-household status and dependent exemptions.
If enacted, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in multiple sections, including section 24 (child tax credit), section 32 (earned income credit), section 21 (dependent care credit), section 151 (dependent exemptions), section 164 (state and local tax deduction), and related conformity provisions. It would also rename and relocate the child tax credit as new section 36C, create new section 36D for the pregnancy-related credit, and update references in tax administration, refund, withholding, and Social Security Act provisions. The practical effect would be to increase refundable tax benefits for families with children and pregnant mothers while reducing or eliminating certain filing statuses, deductions, and exemptions for individual taxpayers.
No committee transcript or recorded vote information was provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize from debate or roll call history. Based on the bill text alone, the measure is framed as a pro-family tax package with strong support for larger child-related credits and pregnancy-related relief. At the same time, its structure suggests it would likely draw both support from proponents of family tax relief and criticism from opponents concerned about the elimination of head-of-household status, the loss of the SALT deduction for individuals, and the abortion-related and gestational-age provisions in the new pregnancy credit.
The most notable points of contention are likely to be the new credit for pregnant mothers, which requires physician certification of a 20-week-or-greater gestational age and excludes pregnancies ending in induced abortion, and the bill’s broader social-policy implications. The elimination of head-of-household filing status and the denial of the individual state and local tax deduction are also likely to be controversial because they would change tax liability for many households, including single parents and taxpayers in high-tax states. Supporters are likely to emphasize the larger child tax credit, full refundability, and expanded earned income credit, while critics may focus on the pregnancy-credit language, the removal of existing tax preferences, and the bill’s redistribution of benefits and burdens across taxpayer groups.