The Frederick County Council is considering legislation establishing a property tax credit for individuals who make property improvements to offer daycare services to children and adults.

Bill 23-22, sponsored by Council President Brad Young and Council Member Renee Knapp, would establish a property tax credit against the County property tax imposed on the improvement of real property if the improvement is used exclusively as a family childcare home, licensed childcare center, licensed daycare center for the elderly, or licensed daycare center for specified adults.

Under the bill, the tax credit is the lesser of $3,000 or the amount of the County property tax attributable to that portion of the property for which the credit is granted. The credit has a duration of five years.

As previously reported on Conduit Street, the childcare industry has significant issues that require seemingly more complex solutions. Experts are calling the increasingly tumultuous situation the “child care cliff.”

Maryland’s situation proves no different, with the combined forces of the COVID-19 pandemic and disappearing federal support dollars, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future siphoning private providers from childcare to pre-K, and some of the highest industry costs in the country.

Maryland has enacted substantial measures to stabilize the childcare industry post-pandemic and ahead of Blueprint pre-K expansion. During the 2022 legislative session, MACo successfully supported a childcare stabilization package to provide financial support for existing licensed childcare providers,  grants to incentivize new providers, resources for new hires, and retention bonuses for childcare providers and employees.

Although federal support funds are now exhausted, the State extended its Child Care Stabilization Grant Program and added $50 million in additional funds to provide relief to licensed childcare providers. However, bills to expand industry recovery grants failed in the 2023 session, and the State’s budget outlook might not bode well for additional relief in the 2024 legislative session.

Useful Links

Frederick County Council Bill 23-22

Previous Conduit Street Coverage: The Child Care Conundrum: Can We Curtail the Cliff?