SB236 • 2026

Income tax, state; newborn and stillborn tax credit.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-339.15, relating to newborn and stillborn tax credit.</p>

Children Taxes

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Head
Last action: 2026-02-03
Official status: Continued
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact process of how the Tax Commissioner will develop guidelines for claiming the credit is not detailed in the provided source material.

Newborn and Stillborn Birth Tax Credit

This law establishes a refundable tax credit for Virginia residents who have an eligible newborn or stillborn child from 2026 to 2030.

What This Bill Does

Establishes a $2,000 refundable tax credit for married individuals per eligible birth of a child during the taxable year that is claimed as a Virginia dependent on tax returns, excluding surrogacy cases.
Allows individuals and joint filers to claim a $2,000 refundable tax credit per stillborn birth under specific conditions, including documentation like a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth.
Limits the number of credits per eligible birth or stillborn birth to one.

Who It Names or Affects

Married individuals with an eligible newborn child during the taxable year that is claimed as a Virginia dependent on tax returns, excluding surrogacy cases.
Individuals and joint filers with a stillborn birth under specific conditions.

Terms To Know

Eligible birth: The birth of a child during the taxable year that the taxpayer is claiming as a Virginia dependent on tax returns, excluding surrogacy cases.
Stillborn birth: The birth of a child who died before or shortly after being born and meets specific criteria like reaching 20 complete weeks gestational period or weighing at least 350 grams, with documentation verifying the loss of such child.

Limits and Unknowns

It is unclear how the guidelines for claiming the credit will be developed by the Tax Commissioner.
The bill does not specify what happens if the tax credit amount exceeds the taxpayer's liability beyond stating it will be refunded.

Bill History

2026-02-03 Finance and Appropriations
Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
2026-02-02 Senate
Fiscal Impact statement From TAX (2/2/2026 2:14 pm)
2026-01-12 Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100819D
2026-01-12 Finance and Appropriations
Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Newborn and stillborn tax credit.
Establishes a refundable income tax credit for taxable years 2026 through 2030 for married individuals in an amount equal to $2,000 per eligible birth so long as such eligible birth is not also the birth of a child by a surrogate. The bill also allows individuals and married individuals filing jointly to claim a refundable income tax credit in an amount equal to $2,000 per stillborn birth so long as such stillborn birth is not also the birth of a child by a surrogate. The bill specifies that only one tax credit may be claimed for each eligible birth or stillborn birth.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-339.15
, relating to newborn and stillborn tax credit.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered
58.1-339.15
as follows:

§
58.1-339.15
.
Newborn
and stillborn
tax credit.

A. For purposes of this section:

"Eligible birth" means
the birth of a child

during the
taxable year
that
the taxpayer is claiming as a
Virginia
dependent on
a
tax return.

"Eligible birth"
does
not include any birth of a child by a surrogate
or a stillborn birth
.

"Stillborn birth" means the birth
of a child

during the taxable year
that
the taxpayer would have been eligible to claim as a

Virginia
dependent but for the child's spontaneous death
,
provided that (i) the child either reached
a gestational period of
20 complete weeks
or
a weight of at least 350 grams, (ii) a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth has been issued
for the child
pursuant to
§

32.1-258.1
or for whom other documentation verifying
the
loss of
such
child can be produced, and (iii)
the child's
death was not the result of an induced termination of the pregnancy
.

"Surroga
te
"
mean
s the same
as that term is defined in § 20
-156.

B. For taxable years beginning on and after January 1,
2026
, but before January 1,
2031
, married individuals
, regardless of filing status,

shall be allowed a refundable credit in an amount equal to $2,000 against the tax levied pursuant to §
58.1-320
per eligible birth. If married individuals file separately for the taxable year in which a credit under this section is claimed, only one individual shall be allowed to claim the credit for any single eligible birth. Only one credit shall be claimed for each eligible birth.

C. For taxable years beginning on and after January 1,
2026
, but before January 1,
2031
,
an
individual
or married individuals
filing jointly
shall be allowed a refundable credit in an amount equal to $2,000 against the tax levied pursuant to §
58.1-320
per
stillborn
birth
so long as such stillborn birth is
not also the birth of a child by a
surrogate
.
If two unmarried individuals
claim
the tax
credit pursuant to this subsection
for the same stillborn birth
, each individual shall
only
be allowed
such
refundable credit in an amount equal to $1,000
.

D
.
If the amount of
a
credit
claimed pursuant to this section
exceeds the taxpayer's liability for such taxable year, the excess
shall
be refunded by the Tax Commissioner. Tax credits shall be refunded by the Tax Commissioner on behalf of the Commonwealth for 100 percent of face value within 90 days after the filing date of the income tax return on which the individual applies for the refund.

The Tax Commissioner shall develop guidelines for claiming the credit provided by this section. Such guidelines shall be exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§
2.2-4000
et seq.).