Assembly BillIntroducedRevenue and Taxation
AB 1698: Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: credits: food handler card.
What AB 1698 does, verified May 4, 2026
The bill aims to provide a tax credit to qualified taxpayers for expenses related to obtaining a food handler card for their employees. This credit will be available for taxable years starting January 1, 2026, and ending January 1, 2029. The credit is intended to promote public health and safety by encouraging employers to ensure their employees have the necessary training to handle food safely. The tax credit will take effect immediately, allowing taxpayers to claim the credit in the same year it is enacted.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. (2026-04-27)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions7 total · showing 5
| Apr. 27, 2026 | In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. |
| Mar. 16, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to REV. & TAX. suspense file. |
| Mar. 10, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX. |
| Mar. 09, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. Read second time and amended. |
| Feb. 17, 2026 | Referred to Com. on REV. & TAX. |
Latest bill textAmended version, March 9, 2026 · 602 words
| Amended IN Assembly March 09, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1698
| Introduced by Assembly Member Alanis |
February 03, 2026 |
An act to add and repeal Sections 17053.65 and 23665 to of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1698, as amended, Alanis. Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: credits: food handler card.
The Personal Income Tax Law and Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws.
This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2029, would allow a credit for expenses paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer for an employee obtaining a food handler card, as specified.
Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements.
This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 17053.65 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:17053.65.
(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2029, there shall be allowed against the “net tax,” as defined in Section 17039, a credit in an amount equal to any expense paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer for an employee obtaining a food handler card in compliance with Section 113948 of the Health and Safety(b) For purposes of this section, “qualified taxpayer” means a taxpayer that has less than 50 employees and all of the taxpayer’s employees are in compliance with Section 113948 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) The Franchise Tax Board may prescribe regulations that are necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.
(d) For purposes of complying with Section 41, with respect to this section and Section 23665, the Legislature finds and declares the purpose of this tax expenditure is to offset the costs of small businesses paying for their employees to get food handler cards.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 2.
Section 23665 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:23665.
(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2029, there shall be allowed against the “tax,” as defined in Section 23036, a credit in an amount equal to any expense paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer for an employee obtaining a food handler card in compliance with Section 113948 of the Health and Safety(b) For purposes of this section, “qualified taxpayer” means a taxpayer that has less than 50 employees and all of the taxpayer’s employees are in compliance with Section 113948 of the Health and Safety Code.
(c) The Franchise Tax Board may prescribe regulations that are necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.Text of AB 1698 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions