If news reports are to be believed, the Republican Party—with the very significant tailwind of winning a trifecta in the House, Senate and Executive Branch at its back—is planning an ambitious legislative agenda in early 2025. At the top of its immediate list of priorities? Tax policy is certain to make the cut, including tax policy affecting families. As Congress considers what to do in this area, it should consider the needs of stay-at-home parents.
Family policy played an outsized role in the past election, with both President-elect Trump and his opponent Vice President Harris weighing in on questions like the Child Tax Credit and government support for child care. America’s parents were a major force in the presidential campaign. Importantly, many of them would like policymakers to make it possible for families to have mom or dad at home when their kids are little. Stay-at-home parents also are critical parts of our “social infrastructure”: raising kids, caring for families and communities, and generally contributing to the smooth functioning of society (even if not in a way generally recognized by our GDP numbers). How can the next Congress support families that have—or would like to have—a parent at home?
At Capita, we recently published a report on the needs and desires of stay-at-home parents across the country. We surveyed 1,500 stay-at-home parents, and held several focus groups to understand what this important, underserved, and largely invisible population is looking for from policymakers. What we found contains important lessons for the incoming Congress.
First, stay-at-home parents are important constituents for every single elected representative in Congress. We found that stay-at-home parents come from every part of the political spectrum. In our survey, 24% of our respondents were Independents, 40% were Republican, and 37% were Democrats. They also came from a diverse demographic background: 54% of our respondents were white, 21% were Hispanic, and there was a large number of Black and Asian respondents. Many stay-at-home parents these days—one in five—are also male. In addition, most stay-at-home parents are not rich; many are working or middle class. Motivations for staying home are equally diverse: deeply held religious beliefs; the desire to be present during their child’s earliest years; the need to care for a child with special needs; an inability to secure external child care that would allow them to work outside the home. In short, many of America’s families with stay-at-home parents are part of the multi-ethnic, working-class coalition that swung right to elect the incoming GOP trifecta—and which a number of Democratic lawmakers have already said they will prioritize winning back for the next election cycle.
Second, stay-at-home parents are a critical part of the invisible infrastructure that makes America’s economy and society work. It should be obvious, but too often when we consider our “child care infrastructure,” we forget about the moms and dads at home. Priority is often given to supporting formal programs like publicly-funded preschools, or vouchers that are mainly used at licensed programs. Such programs are vital for many families, to be sure, but research indicates that many—if not the majority—of infants under age one are cared for at home, as are a large percentage of America’s children under age five. (Policymakers take note: This does not have to be an either-or, as we found that nearly 60% of stay-at-home parents need external child care at least monthly, yet most lack access in America’s broken system.)
In addition to caring for their children, the moms and dads at home also play an important role in elder care, community volunteer efforts, as informal child care providers themselves, and as promoters of family and social cohesion. America owes her stay-at-home parents a tremendous debt.
America owes her stay-at-home parents a tremendous debt.
The time has come for child care policy to stop excluding stay-at-home parents. How could the next Congress go about supporting these ordinary moms and dads at home as it considers its next legislative priorities? We have three suggestions:
- Maintain and expand the Child Tax Credit: In 2017, during the first Trump Administration, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). Among other things, the TCJA expanded the Child Tax Credit (“CTC”). This expanded CTC is set to expire in 2025. A top priority for Congress should be either maintaining the CTC at the level established by the TCJA or (preferably!) expanding it further and making it refundable. As one stay-at-home dad told us: “[T]hey could give us more of a tax break on children. Children, of course, are insanely expensive, and . . . we’re already giving up a lot of financial stability to do what we do.” The stay-at-home parents we interviewed indicated a preference for government support through flexible benefits that allow families to choose how to best use the money—rather than other kinds of less flexible government programming. One mother we spoke with said, “I would like the freedom to basically choose what to do with the money and how that best suits our family.” Ideally, families would see a significant expansion. If budget considerations prevent that ideal reality (especially in order to implement a “baby bonus”), maintaining the current CTC should be a top priority.
- Create a baby bonus: Many of the stay-at-home parents we interviewed faced significant expenses having to do with the birth of a child, including medical expenses. One mom we talked to had a practically dystopian experience trying to navigate a slew of hospital bills. Many others spoke of the costs of having multiple kids. Vice-president elect J.D. Vance has already indicated interest in making sure postpartum moms aren’t deterred from staying home by unexpected medical bills, albeit in a different context. Similarly, Democrats floated a proposed “baby bonus” before. Stay-at-home parents could use extra money in their pockets when they have babies—and so could the rest of America’s parents. A baby bonus would benefit all of America’s new parents, including those who want to have mom or dad at home.
- Make stay-at-home parents eligible for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. It seems likely that the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit will be a topic of discussion and reform for the incoming Congress. If Congress is indeed addressing the provisions of this tax credit—which currently helps cover the cost of child care for working parents —it should expand the credit to also cover families with a stay-at-home parent. One mom told us it was not fair that families with both parents in the paid workforce could access this tax credit, but families with a mom or dad at home cannot. As she put it, regarding “the tax credits that allow people to pull money from their paycheck and put it towards daycare without paying taxes,” she said, “I’d love to see the same policy applied to stay-at-home parents.” This is because “[i]f you have a stay-at-home parent, you [should be able to] get that many dollars to accommodate staying home and being your own child care.” This is not an entirely novel idea: between 1999 and 2007, Republicans regularly proposed giving stay-at-home parents a minimum claimable amount in the CDCTC, at times drawing bipartisan support.
For too long, stay-at-home parents have essentially been ignored by policymakers. This is not good governance. These parents form an important part of the building blocks of America’s future: they care for many of our children, and support our larger communities. It is also bad politics. Stay-at-home parents are an important part of the swing electorate that can make or break political campaigns. The incoming Congress should take note: when addressing family tax policy, stay-at-home parents should be included on the list of priorities.
Elliot Haspel and Ivana Greco are Senior Fellows at the think tank, Capita, where they co-lead an ongoing project on stay-at-home parents.