Tax bill doesn't increase deductions for dependent care expenses

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump pledged to provide relief to parents strapped by child care expenses.

"The Trump plan will rewrite the tax code to allow working parents to deduct from their income taxes child care expenses for up to four children and elderly dependents," the campaign said in its child care proposal.

On Dec. 19 and 20, the Senate and the House passed the final version of the tax bill, which will go to the president for his signature.

So how does the tax bill address this pledge? It doesn't -- at least not directly.

The bill passed by Congress did not significantly overhaul existing child care provisions in the tax code. Instead, it increased the per-child credit.

Under the bill, families will get additional child tax credits, and a portion will be refundable for households that do not earn enough to pay taxes. The tax credit for each child under 17 will double from $1,000 to $2,000, plus $500 for non-child dependents. The credit also applies to more affluent families than previously, phasing out at $400,000 rather than the current $110,000 for joint filers. These provisions will sunset after 2025.

However, this is an imperfect tool for addressing child care costs -- the point of Trump's promise.

For one thing, the new child credits will be partially offset by another provision of the new bill -- the disappearance of the personal and dependent exemption. More importantly, the child credit isn't targeted towards parents who need to pay for child care -- many parents who benefit from the credit may have no child care expenses at all.

The changes in the tax bill aren't what Trump had promised. We rate this a Promise Broken.