HB1210

Child tax policy should prioritize children’s well-being, not reduce support through technical reallocations.

Child support is often unfairly determined and the cost to raise a child far exceeds the money that is provided in a child tax credit. The parent with majority or full legal custody should be the one to claim the child tax credit.

If the child tax credit in 2026 for one child is $2200 it isn’t right that a non custodial parent who pays $185 a month in child support should get the right to claim the child as a dependent over the custodial parent who takes care of the child every day and who pays for everything else. Does $185 even feed a child for a month?

I am currently a single mom. Who’s barely making ends meet to survive. I have a job, but can only work hours that work for my child’s schedule. I only get about $100 in child support, and taking away the child credit from us single parents who actually need it would be just stupid. My ex doesn’t do sh** he doesn’t deserve it all…. I DONT AGREE! Do NOT PASS THISSSSSS!!

I am writing in strong opposition to HB1210 which will allow the parent paying child support to be able to claim said child on their taxes and not allow the custodial parent to claim it on theirs. My example, which I hope will provide you all with the info to realize that this is a bad idea and ultimately unfair to the child. I have a 7 year old granddaughter whose father (term used loosely) left in April of 2020, he hasn’t been seen since. He’s not sent Birthday or Christmas cards, no phone calls, no financial or moral support beyond what has been court ordered. My granddaughter lives with her mother, my daughter, in Concord. The month after this man left them is when they first filed for public assistance for SNAP, CASH, Medical and Childcare and they relied on that for financial support for over a year, receiving nothing in the way of child support until the divorce went through the court. The parenting plan giving my daughter full custody with the ability to make all legal decisions without consultation was not contested, this man wanted nothing to do with his daughter and that’s been the case now for over five years. His wages are garnished for child support, but there have been multiple times that this has lapsed as he’s changed jobs, it takes time for the State to figure this out as the payments go through the State. Most recently my daughter went without child support for almost three months, there is no obligation to make retroactive payments. In this time period it took over a month to navigate the State’s welfare system to access cash benefits to provide some income, it also coincided with my daughter’s job loss due to the lack of childcare. While this man has been able to work full-time and enjoy his life without a care in the world, my daughter struggles as a single mom in every way that you can imagine. She has no option for home childcare that a traditional family, even a broken one would benefit from; this has resulted in her losing three jobs in the past five years. Two were because she could not work nights and weekends and a third because of a lengthy sickness that kept my granddaughter away from school for over a week. While my daughter would love a career in the healthcare industry most of these jobs (full-time) work 10-12 hour shifts often starting at or before 7am. My daughter has been forced to work part-time jobs that can be done between school hours and as a result she does not have benefits, she’s an hourly employee. When my granddaughter is home sick from childcare or school my daughter must stay home, without pay. This is actually very common now since Covid, school policy is if a child has a respiratory illness and signs and symptoms of other illnesses the child is required to stay home, meaning no income for that period. In 2025 my daughter received $1000 from the child tax credit, money that she desperately needs that would be lost to the man that has nothing to do with his daughter. He doesn’t entertain his daughter, tuck her in at night or dry her tears when she’s in pain, he’s not the child’s father, he’s not the Head of Household, he’s not responsible for any of the day to day decisions and he doesn’t lose income because he has to be home with a sick child. This Legislation makes no sense to me, perhaps it does in a traditional broken family where both parents still actively share in the child’s upbringing. But in a single parent’s household such as my daughter’s this will serve as yet another financial obstacle that will ultimately affect the child; she’ll go without something that that $1000 could have funded. The dad in this situation bears no responsibility other than what’s been financially imposed upon him by a Judge, he’s not a parent, it’s a business transaction. My daughter and granddaughter have been on public assistance since April 2020, the day this man left them. Losing the ability to access the Child Tax Credit will only make this situation worse for them. Please vote ITL, this should never see the Governor’s desk.

Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.