COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the financial benefits of having children is being able to claim them as a dependent on your tax return.

Right now, in order to take a deduction for a newborn, they have to be born during the tax year. But, a new bill is trying to give families the opportunity to take advantage of that even earlier.

What You Need To Know

  • The Stork Act was recently introduced by a Republican lawmaker

  • The bill lets expecting families claim there unborn child as a tax dependent  

  • The sponsor says it's to help expecting families who could be financially struggling 

Harmony Miller is pregnant with her second child and is excited for her daughter to become an older sister. She understands growing a family can be very expensive, especially when everyone is already facing inflation. She says the expenses can add up ahead of when a child is born due to resources they may need. Miller says it does not matter if you’re a new mom, single mom or have family support, when you are expecting a child you need to prepare.

"Even just nutrition between doctor's bills or midwife bills," Miller said. "Your grocery bill goes up, everything goes up." 

Now, a new bill is hoping to give expecting families some help sooner rather than later. The stork act could allow parents to claim their conceived child as a dependent, even if they’re not born by the end of the year. 

"If your child is born in January, February, March, or whatever, you've already put out a lot of expenses the year before," said State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery. "Whether it's buying a crib, getting an extra room ready, loading up on diapers and all kinds of baby supplies." 

Click proposed the bill recently and is saying in some cases the extra deduction could drop families into a lower tax bracket.

"They'll change their tax bracket into a bracket where they don't pay taxes at all," Click said. "If they're young, working, poor family, it moves them into that category and that can save them 700, $750." 

However, not everyone is on board with the vague language of the proposal. Jaime Miracle, the Deputy Director of Abortion Forward, believes this proposal is a sneak attack on abortion rights. Miracle suggested that other states have put forth similar legislation that could invoke another meaning. 

"His bill is really not about supporting families," Miracle said. "Because, if you supported families and really wanted to do true policies that supported families, there are lots of options out there. Let's address childcare deserts. Let's let's address the affordability of childcare in our state.”

As the bill is written now, next year would be the first year that parents could possibly claim their conceived child as a dependent. But, Click says the bill is still in its early stages, and the language still needs to be sorted out. Right now, it’s unclear whether it might even get a vote before the current legislative session ends.