Caldier-McClintock bill seeks to eliminate sales tax on diapers and essential baby products

House Bill 1307, introduced by Reps. Michelle Caldier and Stephanie McClintock, seeks to eliminate the sales tax on diapers and essential baby products to ease financial burdens on families. Photo courtesy Rep. Stephanie McClintock

House Bill 1307 would provide financial relief for families

Essential baby products, including diapers, are expensive. With sales taxes charged on those products, the costs are even higher for struggling Washington parents. Rep. Michelle Caldier and Rep. Stephanie McClintock have introduced a bill that would provide financial relief for families. House Bill 1307 would eliminate sales tax on diapers and other baby products.

“A box of diapers costs anywhere from twenty to forty dollars, and that’s not including the state and local sales taxes. It’s estimated that families with babies and toddlers spend more than one-thousand dollars a year just on sales tax in Washington for these essential products,” said Caldier, R-Gig Harbor. “The state should not profit from the sale of diapers and other needed products for babies. At a time when food, gas and housing are so expensive, this is one meaningful way we can help ease the financial burden on families and make Washington more affordable for parents with young children.”

Under the bill, the retail sales tax on diapers and essential child care products would no longer apply as of Jan. 1, 2026. Essential child care products include items ranging from baby bottles, cribs, car seats, and clothing.

“Diapers cost an average of seventy dollars per month per child. Families and single parents need every break they can get,” said, McClintock, R-Vancouver. “This is a real solution to fix a growing problem for so many people in Washington.”

“Infant care costs are a strain on families, including single-parent households.. Diapers and other items that would be exempted under this bill are not luxuries, but critical items for the health and well-being of children,” added Caldier.

“We don’t tax baby formula and the state shouldn’t be making money from the sale of these other items for infants and toddlers. In 2021, the Legislature removed the sales tax from feminine hygiene products. It makes sense for us to do the same on diapers and other items essential for families with young children,” said Caldier.

In addition to Caldier and McClintock, all nine of the other House Republican women legislators have signed as co-sponsors of the measure.

Information provided by Washington State House Republicans, houserepublicans.wa.gov