Meals for Communities Tax Credit Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10499 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10499

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a credit for 
   prepared meal donations made to certain tax-exempt organizations.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2026

 Mr. LaHood (for himself, Ms. DelBene, and Ms. Malliotakis) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a credit for 
   prepared meal donations made to certain tax-exempt organizations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Meals for Communities Tax Credit 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUALIFIED PREPARED MEAL DONATION CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section:

``SEC. 45BB. QUALIFIED PREPARED MEAL DONATION CREDIT.

    ``(a) Allowance of Credit.--For purposes of section 38, in the case 
of an eligible business, the qualified prepared meal donation credit 
determined under this section for the taxable year is an amount equal 
to 50 percent of the fair market value of all qualified prepared meal 
donations made by the taxpayer during the taxable year.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Fair market value.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The fair market value with 
                respect to any qualified prepared meal donation shall 
                not exceed $14.
                    ``(B) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of a 
                taxable year beginning after 2026, the $14 amount in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be increased by an amount equal 
                to--
                            ``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
                            ``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment 
                        determined under section 1(f)(3) for the 
                        calendar year in which the taxable year begins, 
                        determined by substituting `calendar year 2025' 
                        for `calendar year 2016' in subparagraph 
                        (A)(ii) thereof.
            ``(2) Maximum total credit.--The credit determined under 
        this section with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable year 
        shall not exceed $50,000.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Qualified prepared meal donation.--The term 
        `qualified prepared meal donation' means any charitable 
        contribution (as defined in section 170(c)) of a prepared meal 
        (as defined by the Secretary) to an organization which is 
        described in section 501(c)(3) and is exempt from tax under 
        section 501(a) (other than a private foundation, as defined in 
        section 509(a), which is not an operating foundation, as 
        defined in section 4942(j)(3)).
            ``(2) Eligible business.--The term `eligible business' 
        means any restaurant or retail food establishment.
    ``(d) Denial of Double Benefit.--No deduction shall be allowed 
under this chapter for any amount taken into account in determining the 
credit under this section.
    ``(e) Regulatory Authority.--The Secretary shall prescribe such 
regulations or other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to 
carry out the purposes of this section.''.
    (b) Credit Made Part of General Business Credit.--Subsection (b) of 
section 38 of such Code is amended by striking ``plus'' at the end of 
paragraph (40), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (41) and 
inserting ``, plus'', and by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(42) in the case of an eligible business (as defined in 
        section 45BB(c)(2)), the qualified prepared meal donation 
        credit determined under section 45BB(a).''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart D of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 45BB. Qualified prepared meal donation credit.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
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