15-31-133. Credit for day-care facilities. (1) There is a credit against the taxes otherwise due under this chapter that is allowable to an employer based on the amounts paid or incurred during the tax year by the employer to acquire, construct, reconstruct, renovate, or otherwise improve real property so that the property may be used primarily as a day-care facility. Subject to the conditions of this section, the amount of the credit is equal to:
     (a) the amount of the day-care facility credit determined under subsection (2); and
     (b) any day-care facility tax credit carryforwards.
     (2) The credit allowed under subsection (1) is the lesser of:
     (a) $2,500, multiplied by the number of dependents that the day-care facility is designed to accommodate at the end of the first tax year for which credit is first claimed;
     (b) 15% of the cost of the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, or other improvement; or
     (c) $50,000.
     (3) The amounts paid or incurred by the employer for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, or other improvement to real property that qualify for the credit may be paid or incurred either:
     (a) to another person to be used to acquire, construct, reconstruct, renovate, or otherwise improve real property that is operated as a day-care facility and with whom the employer contracts to make day-care assistance payments, and the payments are excluded, or partially excluded, under 26 U.S.C. 129 from the income of the employee for federal tax purposes; or
     (b) to acquire, construct, reconstruct, renovate, or otherwise improve real property that is operated by the employer, or a combination of employers, to provide day-care assistance to the employees of the employer under a program or programs, and the program or programs are excluded, or partially excluded, under 26 U.S.C. 129 from the income of the employee for federal tax purposes.
     (4) To qualify for the credit allowed under subsection (1), the following conditions apply:
     (a) The property must be in actual use in Montana as a day-care facility on the last day of the tax year for which the credit or any carryforward amount of the credit is claimed.
     (b) Day-care services assisted by the employer must take place on the property on the last day of the tax year for which the credit or any carryforward amount of the credit is claimed.
     (c) The person operating the day-care facility must hold a current license or registration certificate under Title 52, chapter 2, part 7, on the last day of the tax year for which the credit under subsection (1) is claimed.
     (d) The day-care facility must accommodate six or more children.
     (e) The day-care facility must be placed in operation before January 1, 2006.
     (5) The total amount of the costs upon which the credit allowed under subsection (1) is based and the total amount of the credit must be determined by the employer, subject to rules adopted by the department, during the tax year in which the property acquired, constructed, reconstructed, renovated, or otherwise improved is first placed in operation as a day-care facility.
     (6) The amount paid or incurred by the employer upon which the credit allowed under subsection (1) is based must be excluded from the income of an employee subject to the limitations provided in 26 U.S.C. 129(b).
     (7) The taxpayer is allowed one-tenth of the total credit determined under subsection (2) in the first tax year in which the taxpayer may claim the credit and one-tenth of the total credit is allowed in each succeeding tax year, not to exceed 9 tax years.
     (8) Except as provided in subsections (4)(a) and (4)(b), if the tax credit allowed under subsection (1) exceeds the taxpayer's liability, the credit may be carried forward to the succeeding tax year or years, except that a carryforward amount is not allowed beyond the period allowed for the credit as provided in subsection (7).
     (9) The provisions of this section do not affect the computation of depreciation or basis for a day-care facility. However, if the credit allowed under this section is claimed, the amount of any deduction that is allowed or allowable under this chapter for the amounts paid or incurred, or upon which the credit is based, must be reduced by the dollar amount of the credit allowed.
     (10) The department shall require evidence from the taxpayer that the person operating the day-care facility on the date that the taxpayer's tax year ends is licensed or registered to operate the facility. The evidence must accompany the tax return in which any amount of tax credit allowed under this section is claimed. If the evidence is not furnished, the credit is not allowed for the tax year for which the evidence is not furnished. Upon request of the department, the department of public health and human services shall report to the department on whether the day-care facility was operated as a licensed or registered day-care facility on the last day of the tax year of the person claiming the credit.
     (11) The employer must meet any other requirements or furnish any information to the department that the department requires under rules adopted by the department to carry out the purposes of this section.
     (12) If the credit allowed under this section is claimed by a small business corporation, as defined in 15-30-3301, or a partnership, the credit must be attributed to shareholders or partners, using the same proportion to report the corporation's or partnership's income or loss for Montana income tax purposes.
     (13) For purposes of the credit allowed under subsection (1):
     (a) the definitions and special rules contained in 26 U.S.C. 129(e) apply to the extent applicable; and
     (b) "employer" means an employer carrying on a business, trade, occupation, or profession in this state.

     History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 540, L. 2001.