Ohio Republican wants to give child tax credits to pregnant parents

By: Anna Staver, originally published March 31, 2025, Cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio parents save money on state taxes for each child they have, but one Republican lawmaker wants to extend those credits into pregnancy.

House Bill 87 would add “conceived children” to the Ohio Department of Taxation’s list of dependents eligible for a tax exemption of up to $2,400 per child.

State Rep. Gary Click, a Sandusky County Republican, calls it the Strategic Tax Opportunities for Raising Kids, or STORK Act.

“It makes sense when you stop and think about it,” Click said. “When do you start paying expenses? Did your expenses start after or before they were born?”

New parents buy cribs, clothes and diapers before their baby arrives. They have out-of-pocket medical costs. High risk pregnancies can even require bed rest for weeks.

“You can’t leave the hospital without a car seat,” Click said. “Let’s just give these parents a break. These are not huge savings but every little bit adds up.”

Here’s what you could exempt on state taxes for each child:

• $2,400 for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of $40,000 or less per year.
• $2,150 for those earning between $40,001 to $80,000.
• $1,900 for those making more than $80,000 per year.

Those are the same amounts parents can deduct after their baby is born. And it wouldn’t apply to federal income taxes.

After a child is born, parents use their Social Security number to claim the tax exemption. Click said they would claim the exemption like others that aren’t for children in the year of pregnancy.

HB 87 would also make baby clothing, pacifiers, bassinets, monitors, breast pumps and other infant items tax free.

The income tax exemption would also be available for parents who suffer a miscarriage or still birth but not women who choose abortion.

“It’s not a back door way to fund abortion,” Click said.

The Republican pastor has long opposed abortion access. A few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections, Click introduced legislation to rewrite Ohio’s Revised Code so that personhood was recognized from the moment of conception.

That bill didn’t go anywhere, and Ohio’s reproductive rights amendment would have likely made it unconstitutional. The concept of personhood has long been central to the abortion debate. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade — overturned by the court in 2022 — established that the word “person” in the 14th Amendment did not apply to the “unborn.” After the court reversed that decision, several states considered personhood changes.

This isn’t the first time Click has tried to pass this bill either. He introduced the STORK act near the end of the last General Assembly.

Click told Cleveland.com he wanted to start the conversation but wasn’t surprised when it didn’t become law.

This year’s version had its first hearing March 26, and he’s optimistic about his chances.

Click could have asked to add HB 87 to the state’s two-year operating budget. Bills dealing with taxes are often submitted as amendments, but Click told Cleveland.com he didn’t submit his conceived child credit.

“I feel confident about this,” he said. “I like talking about it too. I like bringing this awareness to the cost of having a baby.”

Anna Staver covers state government and politics for Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer.