Credit for Caring Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1443 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a nonrefundable credit for working family caregivers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2019 Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. WARREN, Ms. BALD- WIN, Mr. KING, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. COONS) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a nonrefundable credit for working family caregivers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Credit for Caring Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub- 7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1443 IS 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25D the fol- 1 lowing new section: 2 ‘‘SEC. 25E. WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 3 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli- 4 gible caregiver, there shall be allowed as a credit against 5 the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an 6 amount equal to 30 percent of the qualified expenses paid 7 by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the extent that 8 such expenses exceed $2,000. 9 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount allowed as a 11 credit under subsection (a) for the taxable year shall 12 not exceed $3,000. 13 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—In the 14 case of any taxable year beginning after 2019, the 15 dollar amount contained in paragraph (1) shall be 16 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 17 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 18 ‘‘(B) the medical care cost adjustment de- 19 termined under section 213(d)(10)(B)(ii) for 20 the calendar year in which the taxable year be- 21 gins, determined by substituting ‘2018’ for 22 ‘1996’ in subclause (II) thereof. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1443 IS If any increase determined under the preceding sen- 1 tence is not a multiple of $50, such increase shall 2 be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50. 3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER.—For purposes of this 4 section, the term ‘eligible caregiver’ means an individual 5 who— 6 ‘‘(1) during the taxable year pays or incurs 7 qualified expenses in connection with providing care 8 for a qualified care recipient, and 9 ‘‘(2) has earned income (as defined in section 10 32(c)(2)) for the taxable year in excess of $7,500. 11 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT.—For purposes of 12 this section— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified care re- 14 cipient’ means, with respect to any taxable year, any 15 individual who— 16 ‘‘(A) is the spouse of the eligible caregiver, 17 or any other person who bears a relationship to 18 the eligible caregiver described in any of sub- 19 paragraphs (A) through (H) of section 20 152(d)(2), and 21 ‘‘(B) has been certified, before the due 22 date for filing the return of tax for the taxable 23 year, by a licensed health care practitioner (as 24 defined in section 7702B(c)(4)) as being an in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1443 IS dividual with long-term care needs described in 1 paragraph (3) for a period— 2 ‘‘(i) which is at least 180 consecutive 3 days, and 4 ‘‘(ii) a portion of which occurs within 5 the taxable year. 6 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR MAKING CERTIFICATION.— 7 Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), a certification 8 shall not be treated as valid unless it is made within 9 the 391⁄2-month period ending on such due date (or 10 such other period as the Secretary prescribes). 11 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALS WITH LONG-TERM CARE 12 NEEDS.—An individual is described in this para- 13 graph if the individual meets any of the following re- 14 quirements: 15 ‘‘(A) The individual is at least 6 years of 16 age and— 17 ‘‘(i) is unable to perform (without 18 substantial assistance from another indi- 19 vidual) at least 2 activities of daily living 20 (as defined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due 21 to a loss of functional capacity, or 22 ‘‘(ii) requires substantial supervision 23 to protect such individual from threats to 24 health and safety due to severe cognitive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1443 IS impairment and is unable to perform, with- 1 out reminding or cuing assistance, at least 2 1 activity of daily living (as so defined) or 3 to the extent provided in regulations pre- 4 scribed by the Secretary (in consultation 5 with the Secretary of Health and Human 6 Services), is unable to engage in age ap- 7 propriate activities. 8 ‘‘(B) The individual is at least 2 but not 9 6 years of age and is unable due to a loss of 10 functional capacity to perform (without sub- 11 stantial assistance from another individual) at 12 least 2 of the following activities: eating, trans- 13 ferring, or mobility. 14 ‘‘(C) The individual is under 2 years of age 15 and requires specific durable medical equipment 16 by reason of a severe health condition or re- 17 quires a skilled practitioner trained to address 18 the individual’s condition to be available if the 19 individual’s parents or guardians are absent. 20 ‘‘(e) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—For purposes of this 21 section— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), 23 the term ‘qualified expenses’ means expenditures for 24 goods, services, and supports that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1443 IS ‘‘(A) assist a qualified care recipient with 1 accomplishing activities of daily living (as de- 2 fined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) and instru- 3 mental activities of daily living (as defined in 4 section 1915(k)(6)(F) of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n(k)(6)(F))), and 6 ‘‘(B) are provided solely for use by such 7 qualified care recipient. 8 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR OTHER TAX BENE- 9 FITS.—The amount of qualified expenses otherwise 10 taken into account under paragraph (1) with respect 11 to an individual shall be reduced by the sum of any 12 amounts paid for the benefit of such individual for 13 the taxable year which are— 14 ‘‘(A) taken into account under section 21 15 or 213, or 16 ‘‘(B) excluded from gross income under 17 section 129, 223(f), or 529A(c)(1)(B). 18 ‘‘(3) GOODS, SERVICES, AND SUPPORTS.—For 19 purposes of paragraph (1), goods, services, and sup- 20 ports (as defined by the Secretary) shall include— 21 ‘‘(A) human assistance, supervision, cuing 22 and standby assistance, 23 ‘‘(B) assistive technologies and devices (in- 24 cluding remote health monitoring), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1443 IS ‘‘(C) environmental modifications (includ- 1 ing home modifications), 2 ‘‘(D) health maintenance tasks (such as 3 medication management), 4 ‘‘(E) information, 5 ‘‘(F) transportation of the qualified care 6 recipient, 7 ‘‘(G) nonhealth items (such as incontinence 8 supplies), and 9 ‘‘(H) coordination of and services for peo- 10 ple who live in their own home, a residential 11 setting, or a nursing facility, as well as the cost 12 of care in these or other locations. 13 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED EXPENSES FOR ELIGIBLE 14 CAREGIVERS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 15 following shall be treated as qualified expenses if 16 paid or incurred by an eligible caregiver: 17 ‘‘(A) Expenditures for respite care for a 18 qualified care recipient. 19 ‘‘(B) Expenditures for counseling, support 20 groups, or training relating to caring for a 21 qualified care recipient. 22 ‘‘(C) Lost wages for unpaid time off due to 23 caring for a qualified care recipient as verified 24 by an employer. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1443 IS ‘‘(D) Travel costs of the eligible caregiver 1 related to caring for a qualified care recipient. 2 ‘‘(E) Expenditures for technologies, as de- 3 termined by the Secretary, that assist an eligi- 4 ble caregiver in providing care for a qualified 5 care recipient. 6 ‘‘(5) HUMAN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘human 7 assistance’ includes the costs of a direct care worker. 8 ‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—An expense shall not 9 be taken into account under this section unless the 10 eligible caregiver substantiates such expense under 11 such regulations or guidance as the Secretary shall 12 provide. 13 ‘‘(7) MILEAGE RATE.—For purposes of this sec- 14 tion, the mileage rate for the use of a passenger 15 automobile shall be the standard mileage rate used 16 to calculate the deductible costs of operating an 17 automobile for medical purposes. Such rate may be 18 used in lieu of actual automobile-related travel ex- 19 penses. 20 ‘‘(8) COORDINATION WITH ABLE ACCOUNTS.— 21 Qualified expenses for a taxable year shall not in- 22 clude contributions to an ABLE account (as defined 23 in section 529A). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1443 IS ‘‘(f) PHASE OUT BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN- 1 COME.—For purposes of this section— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit 3 allowable under subsection (a) shall be reduced (but 4 not below zero) by $100 for each $1,000 (or fraction 5 thereof) by which the taxpayer’s modified adjusted 6 gross income exceeds the threshold amount. 7 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.— 8 The term ‘modified adjusted gross income’ means 9 adjusted gross income increased by any amount ex- 10 cluded from gross income under section 911, 931, or 11 933. 12 ‘‘(3) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—The term ‘thresh- 13 old amount’ means— 14 ‘‘(A) $150,000 in the case of a joint re- 15 turn, and 16 ‘‘(B) $75,000 in any other case. 17 ‘‘(4) INDEXING.—In the case of any taxable 18 year beginning in a calendar year after 2019, each 19 dollar amount contained in paragraph (3) shall be 20 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 21 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 22 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter- 23 mined under section (1)(f)(3) for the calendar 24 year in which the taxable year begins, by sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1443 IS stituting ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 1 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof. 2 ‘‘(5) ROUNDING RULE.—If any increase deter- 3 mined under paragraph (4) is not a multiple of $50, 4 such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest 5 multiple of $50. 6 ‘‘(g) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER 7 WITH CARE RECIPIENT (QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT) 8 IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No credit shall be al- 9 lowed under this section to a taxpayer with respect to any 10 qualified care recipient unless the taxpayer includes the 11 name and taxpayer identification number of such indi- 12 vidual, and the identification number of the licensed health 13 care practitioner certifying such individual, on the return 14 of tax for the taxable year.’’. 15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 16 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 17 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat- 18 ing to section 25D the following new item: 19 ‘‘Sec. 25E. Working family caregivers.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 20 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 21 December 31, 2018. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS