A group of Alabama lawmakers are working to expand the definition of “dependents” for state residents filing taxes to include fetuses, or “unborn children.”

HB182, which passed out of the House Ways and Means Education committee on March 22, would allow Alabamians filing taxes beginning Jan. 1, 2024, to claim a fetus as a dependent during the pregnancy.

If passed, the Department of Revenue would establish a form, which would be signed by a licensed health care professional, that the taxpayer would submit to verify their pregnancy.

In accordance with the Human Life Protection Act, which also prohibits abortion, an unborn child is defined as “a human being, specifically including an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.”

Georgia instituted a similar law in 2022, though the taxpayer must be at least six weeks pregnant. They can claim up to $3,000 for the dependent.

According to the bill, a tax allowance for qualifying dependents could be:

• $1,000 for each person other than a partner for those with a gross income of $50,000 a year or less
• $500 for each person other than a partner for those with a gross income of more than $50,000 a year

The bill states that a taxpayer could not claim a fetus and a child resulting from that pregnancy in the same tax year. Taxpayers could claim multiple fetuses or children born from the same pregnancy.

The bill states that there would have to be verification that “a taxpayer claiming a dependent pursuant to this subparagraph was pregnant during the tax year.”

It does not address cases of pregnancy termination, whether through out-of-state abortions, pregnancy complications or miscarriages.

Now that it’s passed out of committee, the bill’s next step will be a vote on the House floor.