I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4954 

To amend the Internal Revenue Act of 1986 to strengthen the earned income 

tax credit and expand eligibility for childless individuals, homeless youth, 

and qualified foster youth. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Act of 1986 to strengthen 

the earned income tax credit and expand eligibility for 

childless individuals, homeless youth, and qualified foster 

youth. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foster Opportunity 

5 EITC Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING THE EARNED INCOME TAX CRED2 IT. 

3 (a) INCREASED CREDIT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH NO

4 QUALIFYING CHILDREN.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The table in subparagraph 

6 (A) of section 32(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 

7 of 1986 is amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘$4,220’’ in the second col9 umn of the third row and inserting ‘‘$10,180’’, 

10 and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,280’’ in the third col12 umn of the third row and inserting ‘‘$11,380’’. 

13 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Subparagraph 

14 (B) of section 32(j)(1) of such Code is amended— 

15 (A) in clause (i)— 

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘(except as provided 

17 in clause (iii))’’ after ‘‘(b)(2)(A)’’, and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end, 

19 (B) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

20 (iii), and 

21 (C) by inserting after clause (i) the fol22 lowing new clause: 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the $10,180 and 

24 $11,380 amounts in the table in subsection 

25 (b)(2)(A), ‘calendar year 2017’ for ‘cal26 endar year 1992’, and’’. 


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1 (b) CREDIT INCREASE AND REDUCTION IN PHASE2 OUT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH NO CHILDREN.—The table 

3 contained in section 32(b)(1)(A) of such Code is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘7.65’’ in the second column of 

6 the fourth row and inserting ‘‘20’’, and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘7.65’’ in the third column of 

8 the fourth row and inserting ‘‘15.98’’. 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY AGE LIMITS.— 

10 (1) UPPER AGE LIMIT.—Subclause (II) of sec11 tion 32(c)(1)(A)(ii) of such Code is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘age 65’’ and inserting ‘‘age 68’’. 

13 (2) LOWERING ELIGIBILITY AGE FOR CERTAIN

14 CHILDLESS INDIVIDUALS, HOMELESS YOUTH, AND

15 QUALIFIED FOSTER YOUTH.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subclause (II) of sec17 tion 32(c)(1)(A)(ii) of such Code is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘age 25’’ and inserting ‘‘age 19 (or, in 

19 the case of homeless youth and qualified foster 

20 youth, age 18)’’. 

21 (B) HOMELESS YOUTH AND QUALIFIED

22 FOSTER YOUTH.—Paragraph (1) of section 

23 32(c) of such Code is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new subparagraphs: 

25 ‘‘(G) HOMELESS YOUTH.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

2 subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the term ‘home3 less youth’ means— 

4 ‘‘(I) an unaccompanied youth 

5 who has not attained age 24 and who 

6 is a homeless child or youth (as de7 fined in section 725 of the McKinney8 Vento Homeless Assistance Act), or 

9 ‘‘(II) an individual who is deter10 mined by a specified official to be un11 accompanied, at risk of homelessness, 

12 and self-supporting. 

13 ‘‘(ii) VERIFICATION FOR HOMELESS

14 YOUTH.—No credit shall be allowed under 

15 this section by reason of clause (i) to any 

16 individual unless such individual attests on 

17 the return of tax for the taxable year that 

18 the individual is a homeless youth and that 

19 no other taxpayer is entitled to claim such 

20 individual as a qualifying child for pur21 poses of this section or section 24 for the 

22 taxable year. The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the National Taxpayer Advocate 

24 and national homeless youth advocates, 

25 shall issue regulations— 


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1 ‘‘(I) determining the information 

2 on relevant tax forms or documenta3 tion necessary to demonstrate home4 less youth status in the case of an 

5 audit of the return, and 

6 ‘‘(II) providing that a docu7 mented phone call with or a written 

8 statement from a specified official 

9 shall be treated as sufficient to verify 

10 the status of an individual as a home11 less youth. 

12 ‘‘(iii) SPECIFIED OFFICIAL.—For pur13 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘spec14 ified official’ means— 

15 ‘‘(I) a local educational agency 

16 homeless liaison designated pursuant 

17 to section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 

18 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

19 Act (or a designee of such liaison), 

20 ‘‘(II) the director of an emer21 gency or transitional shelter street 

22 outreach program, homeless youth 

23 drop-in center, or other program serv24 ing homeless youth (or a designee of 

25 such director), 


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1 ‘‘(III) the director of a Federal 

2 TRIO program or a Gaining Early 

3 Awareness and Readiness for Under4 graduate program under chapter 1 or 

5 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of 

6 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (or 

7 a designee of such director), or 

8 ‘‘(IV) a financial aid adminis9 trator (within the meaning of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965) (or a 

11 designee of such administrator). 

12 ‘‘(H) QUALIFIED FOSTER YOUTH.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

14 subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the term ‘quali15 fied foster youth’ means an individual who 

16 was in foster care on or after the date that 

17 such individual attained age 14, if such 

18 care was under the supervision or adminis19 tration of a State or tribal agency admin20 istering (or eligible to administer) a plan 

21 under part B or part E of the Social Secu22 rity Act (without regard to whether Fed23 eral assistance was provided with respect 

24 to such child under such part E). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) VERIFICATION OF QUALIFIED

2 FOSTER YOUTH.—The Secretary in con3 sultation with the National Taxpayer Ad4 vocate and the Children’s Bureau, Admin5 istration for Children and Families, shall 

6 issue regulations determining information 

7 for relevant tax forms, providing criteria 

8 for verifying an individual as a qualified 

9 foster youth during any transition period 

10 between the date of the enactment of this 

11 subparagraph and the establishment of an 

12 operational data reporting system de13 scribed in section 6050Z(a) if such indi14 vidual is not listed in the verification data15 base described in 6050Z(a), or in the case 

16 of an audit of the return. The Secretary 

17 shall consider the use for such purposes of 

18 court or official State documentation, 

19 verification from entities such as a child 

20 welfare agency, case worker, Court Ap21 pointed Special Advocate, attorney, guard22 ian ad litem, Federal TRIO or a Gaining 

23 Early Awareness and Readiness for Under24 graduate Program under chapter 1 of sub25 part 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher 


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1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 

2 11 et seq.) or other recognized State, coun3 ty, or tribal authority, and verification 

4 through the John H. Chafee Foster Care 

5 Program for Successful Transition to 

6 Adulthood under section 477 of the Social 

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677). During any 

8 transition period between the enactment of 

9 this subparagraph and the establishment 

10 of an operational data reporting system de11 scribed in section 6050Z(a), no credit shall 

12 be allowed under this section by reason of 

13 clause (i) to any individual unless such in14 dividual attests on the return of tax for the 

15 taxable year that the individual is a quali16 fied foster youth and that no other tax17 payer is entitled to claim such individual 

18 as a qualified child for purposes of this 

19 section or section 24 for the taxable year. 

20 In the situation that an adult can claim a 

21 qualified foster youth for purposes of this 

22 section or section 24, the Secretary shall 

23 develop a form to indicate that the adult 

24 will not claim the qualified foster youth for 

25 the taxable year.’’. 


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1 (C) RETURNS RELATING TO YOUTH IN

2 FOSTER CARE.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part 

4 III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of such 

5 Code is amended by inserting after section 

6 6050Y the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 6050Z. RETURNS RELATING TO YOUTH IN FOSTER 

8 CARE. 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF REPORTING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State, local, or tribal 

11 agency providing foster care under a plan approved 

12 under part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 

13 Act shall make a return, at such times as the Sec14 retary may prescribe, described in subsection (b) 

15 with respect to any individual under the placement 

16 and responsibility of such State, locality, or tribe on 

17 or after the date that such individual attained age 

18 14. 

19 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF DATA REPORTING SYS20 TEM.—The Secretary shall work with the Children’s 

21 Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, 

22 to develop a data reporting system which satisfies 

23 the return requirements of paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) SINGLE RETURN.—Except as provided by 

25 the Secretary, a State, local, or tribal agency deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4954.IH H4954

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) which has made a return 

2 for an individual described in such paragraph shall 

3 not be required to make a return for such individual 

4 for any subsequent calendar year. 

5 ‘‘(b) FORM AND MANNER OF RETURNS.—A return 

6 is described in this subsection if such return— 

7 ‘‘(1) is in such form as the Secretary may pre8 scribe, and 

9 ‘‘(2) contains, with respect to each individual 

10 described in subsection (a)(1)— 

11 ‘‘(A) the name, date of birth, and TIN of 

12 such individual, and 

13 ‘‘(B) such other information as the Sec14 retary may prescribe in consultation with the 

15 Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children 

16 and Families. 

17 ‘‘(c) STATEMENT TO BE FURNISHED TO INDIVID18 UALS WITH RESPECT TO WHOM INFORMATION IS RE19 QUIRED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every person required to 

21 make a return under subsection (a) shall furnish to 

22 each person whose name is required to be set forth 

23 in such return a written statement showing— 

24 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the person 

25 required to make such return and the phone 


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1 number of the information contact for such per2 son, and 

3 ‘‘(B) the information required to be shown 

4 on the return with respect to such individual. 

5 ‘‘(2) DATE.—The written statement required 

6 under paragraph (1) shall be furnished on or before 

7 January 31 of the year following the calendar year 

8 for which the return under subsection (a) is required 

9 to be made.’’. 

10 (ii) ASSESSABLE PENALTIES.—Sub11 paragraph (B) of section 6724(d)(1) of 

12 such Code is amended— 

13 (I) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

14 clause (xxv), 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

16 of clause (xxvi) and inserting ‘‘or’’, 

17 and 

18 (III) by inserting after clause 

19 (xxvi) the following new clause: 

20 ‘‘(xxvii) section 6050Z (relating to re21 turns relating to youth in foster care),’’. 

22 (iii) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

23 table of sections for subpart B of part III 

24 of subchapter A of chapter 61 of such 


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1 Code is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 6050Z. Returns relating to youth in foster care.’’. 

3 (d) ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKING HOMELESS AND

4 FORMER FOSTER YOUTH WHO ARE FULL-TIME STU5 DENTS.—Subparagraph (B) of section 32(c)(1) of such 

6 Code is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

7 preceding sentence shall not apply to— 

8 ‘‘(1) a homeless youth (as defined in subpara9 graph (G)), or 

10 ‘‘(2) a qualified foster youth (as defined in sub11 paragraph (H)), 

12 who is a student (as defined in section 152(f)(2)) for the 

13 taxable year.’’. 

14 (e) INFORMATION RETURN MATCHING.—Not later 

15 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

16 the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) 

17 shall develop and implement procedures for checking an 

18 individual’s claim for the credit under section 32 of the 

19 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 against claims by other 

20 taxpayers for tax credits relating to higher education with 

21 respect to dependent college students. 

22 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

24 December 31, 2018. 

Æ 


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