For decades, animal law reform has suffered from philosophical paralysis. Trapped in abstract debates over personhood, sentience, and complex common-law overhaul, advocates frequently propose sweeping, disruptive systemic changes that inevitably stall and die in congressional committees. Good pet owners and working families continue to lose bonded companion animals every day not out of a lack of love, but due to entirely preventable financial barriers—surging veterinary bills, inflexible workplace environments, and zero tax-deductible safety nets.
The Forgotten Pack Project adopts an unapologetically pragmatic, surgical approach. Companion animals are legally and practically cherished property under human stewardship. Rather than inventing an entirely new administrative tax apparatus or fighting losing battles over philosophical reclassification, we leverage proven, existing Internal Revenue Code (IRC) architecture. By cleanly inserting a single category for companion animals into established frameworks—such as employer child care credits, family medical leave, flexible spending accounts, and medical deductions—we achieve immediate financial relief. Just as historic rights expansions began with precise, incremental steps before standardizing across society, financial security for companion animal stewardship starts right here with clean statutory mechanics.
Of course, even these small, surgical steps will face a steep uphill battle. Critics will immediately raise the classic boundary problem: Where do we draw the line? Do we start with traditional companion animals like dogs and cats only? What about birds, fish, or reptiles? It is a fair question, but perfection shouldn't be the enemy of progress. We gotta start somewhere, anchoring the initial framework to established veterinary care standards and municipal licensing, and let the statutory boundaries expand naturally over time as the administrative machinery proves it works.
Provides 30%–40% credit (50% for small businesses) on pet insurance, pet daycare, and pet-friendly facility retrofits.
Offers 12.5%–25% general business credit on wages paid during documented veterinary or bereavement leave.
Excludes up to $2,500/year in employer pet care subsidies or employee pre-tax set-asides.
Expands qualified medical care to permit up to $1,000/year in pre-tax HSA/FSA spending for veterinary care.
Target Statute: 26 U.S.C. § 45F (Employer-provided child care credit) [Official House.gov]
§45F. Employer-provided child care credit (a) In general For purposes of section 38, the employer-provided child care credit determined under this section for the taxable year is an amount equal to the sum of— (1) 40 percent (50 percent in the case of an eligible small business) of the qualified child care expenditures, and (2) 10 percent of the qualified child care resource and referral expenditures, of the taxpayer for such taxable year. (c) Definitions: (1) Qualified child care expenditure (A) In general: The term "qualified child care expenditure" means any amount paid or incurred— (i) to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, or expand property— (I) which is to be used as part of a qualified child care facility of the taxpayer...
Leaves 100% of the small-business gross receipts, percentage calculations, and recapture rules intact while cleanly inserting parallel language for "qualified companion animal care and workplace accommodation facilities", granting employers identical 40%–50% tax credits.
Target Statute: 26 U.S.C. § 45S (Employer credit for paid family and medical leave) [Official House.gov]
§45S. Employer credit for paid family and medical leave (a) Establishment of credit (1) In general: For purposes of section 38, in the case of an eligible employer, the paid family and medical leave credit is an amount equal to either of the following (as elected by such employer): (A) The applicable percentage of the amount of wages paid to qualifying employees with respect to any period in which such employees are on family and medical leave. (e) Family and medical leave (1) In general: ...the term "family and medical leave" means leave for any 1 or more of the purposes described under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1), or paragraph (3), of section 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993...
Retains all wage proration and eligibility formulas under § 45S, appending a discrete qualifying clause for documented emergency veterinary care or companion animal bereavement leave.
Target Statute: 26 U.S.C. § 129 (Dependent care assistance programs) [Official House.gov]
§129. Dependent care assistance programs (a) Exclusion (1) In general: Gross income of an employee does not include amounts paid or incurred by the employer for dependent care assistance provided to such employee if the assistance is furnished pursuant to a program which is described in subsection (d). (2) Limitation of exclusion (A) In general: The amount which may be excluded under paragraph (1) for dependent care assistance... shall not exceed $7,500 ($3,750 in the case of a separate return by a married individual). (e) Definitions and special rules: (1) Dependent care assistance: ...means the payment of, or provision of, those services which if paid for by the employee would be considered employment-related expenses under section 21(b)(2)...
Mirrors the exact non-discrimination and written plan criteria of § 129, establishing a parallel § 129X account option with a dedicated pre-tax companion animal care allowance cap (e.g., $2,500) to protect working households from ordinary income and FICA tax burdens.
Target Statute: 26 U.S.C. § 213 (Medical, dental, etc., expenses) [Official House.gov] paired with the official PAW Act of 2025 (H.R. 1842 via GovInfo)
§213. Medical, dental, etc., expenses (a) Allowance of deduction There shall be allowed as a deduction the expenses paid during the taxable year, not compensated for by insurance or otherwise, for medical care of the taxpayer, his spouse, or a dependent... to the extent that such expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. (d) Definitions For purposes of this section— (1) The term "medical care" means amounts paid— (A) for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body...
119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION — H. R. 1842 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain veterinary expenses for pets and service animals to be treated as amounts paid for medical care for purposes of a health savings account or flexible savings account. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES — MARCH 4, 2025 Ms. TENNEY (for herself and Ms. Ross) 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 allow certain veterinary expenses for pets and service animals to be treated as amounts paid for medical care for purposes of a health savings account or flexible savings account. 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 "People and Animals Well-being Act of 2025" or the "PAW Act of 2025". SEC. 2. CERTAIN AMOUNTS PAID FOR VETERINARY CARE TREATED AS AMOUNTS PAID FOR MEDICAL CARE. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: "(12) CERTAIN AMOUNTS PAID FOR VETERINARY CARE TREATED AS PAID FOR MEDICAL CARE.— "(A) IN GENERAL.—An amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year for the following shall be treated as paid for medical care: "(i) Any amount paid or incurred for veterinary care or a pet health insurance plan of a service animal of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a dependant of the taxpayer. "(ii) In the case of a pet of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer, so much as does not exceed— "(I) $1,000 of the amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer for veterinary care for such pet, and "(II) $1,000 for a pet health insurance plan of such pet. "(iii) PET.—For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'pet' has the meaning given such term in section 12502(b)(9)(D) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. "(iv) SERVICE ANIMAL.—For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'service animal' has the meaning given such term in section 36.104 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). "(v) VETERINARY CARE.—For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'veterinary care' means amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, condition, or injury, including diagnostic tests, medicine, medical equipment, nutritional products, surgery, and other services or items as authorized or prescribed by a veterinarian licensed by a State or a territory of the United States to practice veterinary medicine."
The PAW Act (H.R. 1842) serves as the primary congressional proof-of-concept. By establishing pre-tax veterinary parity under federal law, it validates the broader methodological approach of the Forgotten Pack Project—proving that surgical tax code expansion within existing Title 26 architecture is the most viable path toward comprehensive animal stewardship support.