Senate BillIntroducedRevenue and Taxation
SB 1096: Personal income tax: senior tax credit: dependents: qualifying child.
What SB 1096 does, verified August 15, 2026
The bill proposes a new tax credit for senior taxpayers. A qualified taxpayer is defined as someone 65 years or older with no earned income. This tax credit would be $1,500 per dependent for each taxable year from 2026 to 2031. The tax credit is available to taxpayers who are 65 or older and have no earned income. The tax credit is a new tax expenditure that aims to achieve specific goals, but the bill does not specify what those goals are.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions12 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| Aug. 07, 2026 | Set for hearing August 13. |
| Jun. 29, 2026 | June 29 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 19, 2026 | Set for hearing June 29. |
| Jun. 10, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 4686.) (June 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
Latest bill textAmended version, June 3, 2026 · 924 words
| Amended IN Senate June 03, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1096
| Introduced by Senator Dahle (Coauthor: Assembly Member Sanchez) |
February 13, 2026 |
An act to add and repeal Section 17054.8 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1096, as amended, Dahle. Personal income tax: senior tax credit. credit: dependents: qualifying child.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit of $227 for each dependent, as defined, of a taxpayer for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1999, as adjusted for inflation, and which may be reduced if a taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold amount.
This bill would allow a credit against the taxes imposed by the Personal Income Tax Law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, to a qualified taxpayer in an amount equal to $1,500 per dependent. qualified dependent, as defined. The bill would define “qualified taxpayer” for these purposes to mean a taxpayer who is or would have been, or whose spouse is or would have been, as applicable, 65 years of age or older as of the last day of the taxable year and for whom no part of their adjusted gross income for the taxable year consists of earned income, as defined.
Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals 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 17054.8 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:17054.8.
(a) (1) For(2) (A) The credit allowed by this section shall be reduced by 6 percent of the applicable of the following:
(i) In the case of spouses filing a joint return and surviving spouses, the amount by which the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income exceeds one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000).
(ii) For all other filers, the amount by which the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income exceeds seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000).
(B) A reduction made pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed the maximum value of the credit.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Earned income” shall have the same meaning as is provided in Section 32(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to earned income.
(2) “Qualified dependent” means a dependent who is a qualifying child of the taxpayer and for whom the taxpayer has not received any qualified foster care payments during the taxable year.
(3) “Qualified foster care payment” shall have the same meaning as is provided in Section 131 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2)
(4)
“Qualified taxpayer” means an individual(A) The taxpayer, or the taxpayer or their spouse in the case of spouses filing joint returns and surviving spouses, is or would have been 65 years of age or older as of the last day of the taxable year.
(B) No part of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income for the taxable year consists of earned income.
(5) “Qualifying child” shall have the same meaning as is provided in Section 152(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to qualifying child.
(c) In the case where the credit allowed under this section exceeds the “net tax,” the excess credit may be carried over to reduce the “net tax” in the following taxable year, and succeeding six taxable years, if necessary, until the credit has been exhausted.
(c)
(d) (1) For purposes of complying with Section 41 as it relates to the credit authorized by this section, the Legislature finds and declares that the specific goal, purpose, and objective of this credit is to provide assistance to retired senior taxpayers who are caring for dependents while the cost of living continues to rise.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the Legislative Analyst’s Office The Franchise Tax Board shall report to the Legislature, on or before January July 1, 2032, and in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the average amount of the credit claimed by allowed to a qualified taxpayer and how many the number of taxpayers claimed allowed the credit.
(3)(A)Notwithstanding any other law, the Franchise Tax Board shall provide all information required to complete the report required by paragraph (2) to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
(B)The disclosure requirements of this paragraph shall be treated as an exception to Section 19542.
(d)
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2032, 2031, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 2.
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 SB 1096 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions