Oklahoma lawmakers study a Texas-style tax credit for business gifts to nonprofits that serve families
Sen. John Haste and Rep. Nicole Miller scheduled a joint interim study for Oct. 12 on a credit for gifts to fatherhood, parenting and family programs. It is a study, not a bill, and Senate pages give the idea two names.
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma lawmakers scheduled a hearing for Monday, Oct. 12, on whether the state should give businesses a tax credit for gifts to nonprofits that strengthen families, with a Texas credit that began this year as one of their examples.
Rep. Nicole Miller, a Republican from Edmond, and Sen. John Haste, a Republican from Broken Arrow, called the joint interim study for 9:30 a.m. in Room 535 of the State Capitol, before the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Human Services. It will look at how Oklahoma could encourage private charitable support for fatherhood, parenting and family programs, the Senate said in an Oct. 9 release.
Neither Senate page about the study names a bill. The release calls the idea the Strong Families Tax Credit. The Senate's list of interim studies files the same hearing, IS 2026-48, as "Setting up a Children's Promise Tax Credit" and says it will look at credits that support pregnancy resource centers, among others.
Who is scheduled to speak
The agenda lists Tony Dungy, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, who founded All Pro Dad, a fatherhood program of Family First, a Tampa, Fla., nonprofit; Patrick Stevens of Family First; Texas Sen. Angela Paxton; Phillip Whitten, Oklahoma executive director of One More Child; and Brian Johnson, chief financial officer of First United Bank.
“Parents are central to a child's success, and communities have a role in helping families thrive.”
The Senate release said the $5 million in Texas credits for 2026 was reserved within minutes of the state's portal opening, and that Florida, where such a credit began in 2021, raised its yearly amount to $53.1 million for fiscal 2026-27 and 2027-28.
How the Texas credit works
Texas created its credit as a pilot in Senate Bill 2018, passed in 2025. A business can claim it against the state franchise tax for gifts to certified nonprofits made on or after June 1, 2026, up to the amount given and no more than $1 million. The state awards no more than $5 million a year, first come, first served, and the program expires Jan. 1, 2029.
OneStar Foundation in Austin certifies the nonprofits. They must be 501(c)(3) organizations that have offered case management for at-risk families or services for fathers in Texas for at least three years, must not provide abortion services or information about them, and may have drawn no more than half their revenue from government the prior year. No more than 5% of the gifts may go to administration.
OneStar lists 36 certified nonprofits. It says the 2026 credits are all reserved and reservations reopen in January 2027.
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