I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5296 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an election to 

advance future child tax credits in the year of birth or adoption. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2019 

Mr. ALLRED (for himself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Ms. HERRERA

BEUTLER, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, 

and Mr. STEIL) 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 provide 

an election to advance future child tax credits in the 

year of birth or adoption. 

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 ‘‘Advancing Support 

5 for Working Families Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ELECTION TO ADVANCE CHILD TAX CREDIT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following new subsection: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(i) ELECTION FOR ADVANCED CREDIT IN YEAR OF

2 BIRTH OR ADOPTION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer 

4 who makes an election under this subsection with re5 spect to any applicable qualifying child— 

6 ‘‘(A) the amount of the credit allowed 

7 under subsection (a) with respect to such appli8 cable qualifying child for the taxable year in 

9 which such applicable qualifying child is born or 

10 adopted shall be increased by the applicable 

11 amount, and 

12 ‘‘(B) the amount determined under sub13 section (d) shall be increased by the amount of 

14 credit allowed to the taxpayer under this section 

15 by reason of subparagraph (A). 

16 No election may be made under this subsection with 

17 respect to an applicable qualifying child unless the 

18 applicable qualifying child is alive at the time the 

19 election is made. 

20 ‘‘(2) OFFSETTING REDUCTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

22 provided in this paragraph, if the amount of the 

23 credit allowed to the taxpayer under subsection 

24 (a) is increased under paragraph (1), the tax 

25 imposed by this chapter shall be increased by 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5296 IH

1 the applicable fraction of such increase for each 

2 taxable year in the offset period. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE FRACTION.—For pur4 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable 

5 fraction’ means a fraction— 

6 ‘‘(i) the numerator of which is one, 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is the 

9 total number of years in the offset period. 

10 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) DEATH.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

12 not apply to any taxable year ending after 

13 the date of the death of— 

14 ‘‘(I) the taxpayer, or 

15 ‘‘(II) the applicable qualifying 

16 child with respect to the increase. 

17 ‘‘(ii) DEFERMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case 

19 of any taxpayer described in subclause 

20 (II) for the taxable year, no tax shall 

21 be imposed under subparagraph (A) 

22 for such taxable year and the number 

23 of taxable years in the offset period 

24 shall be increased (other than for purVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5296.IH H5296

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5296 IH

1 poses of subparagraph (B)(ii)) by 1 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(II) TAXPAYER DESCRIBED.—A 

4 taxpayer is described in this subclause 

5 for any taxable year if the earned in6 come amount of the taxpayer for such 

7 taxable year is more than 20 percent 

8 less than the earned income amount 

9 of the taxpayer for the preceding tax10 able year and the taxpayer makes an 

11 election under this clause. The Sec12 retary shall promulgate rules for cal13 culating differences in the earned in14 come amount of any taxpayer whose 

15 filing status is not the same as such 

16 taxpayer’s filing status in the pre17 ceding taxable year. 

18 ‘‘(III) ELECTION.—An election 

19 made under this clause shall apply to 

20 all applicable qualifying children of 

21 the taxpayer with respect to whom an 

22 increase is allowed under this sub23 section and may not be made with re24 spect to more than 3 taxable years in 

25 any offset period. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(D) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of an 

2 increase in credit allowed under paragraph (1) 

3 with respect to a joint return, half of such in4 crease shall be treated as having been allowed 

5 to each individual filing such return for pur6 poses of this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(E) RETURN REQUIREMENT.—If the tax 

8 imposed by this chapter for the taxable year is 

9 increased under this paragraph, the taxpayer 

10 shall, notwithstanding section 6012, be required 

11 to file a return with respect to the taxes im12 posed under this subtitle. 

13 ‘‘(F) OFFSET PERIOD.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro15 vided in subparagraph (C)(ii), the term 

16 ‘offset period’ means, with respect to any 

17 increase under this paragraph, the 10 tax18 able years beginning with the taxable year 

19 in which the applicable qualifying child is 

20 born or adopted. 

21 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a 

22 qualifying child who is adopted by the tax23 payer and who is over the age of 5 on the 

24 date the adoption becomes final, the num25 ber of taxable years in the offset period 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5296 IH

1 shall be reduced by 1 year for each year by 

2 which the age attained by the qualifying 

3 child on the date the adoption becomes 

4 final is over the age of 5. 

5 ‘‘(3) ELECTION TO CLAIM CREDIT ON PRIOR

6 YEAR RETURN.—In the case of an applicable quali7 fying child born or adopted after the date that is 

8 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 

9 subsection, a taxpayer may elect to treat such child 

10 as born or adopted on December 31 of the calendar 

11 year preceding such birth or adoption for purposes 

12 of this section. 

13 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub14 section— 

15 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE QUALIFYING CHILD.— 

16 The term ‘applicable qualifying child’ means 

17 any qualifying child other than an eligible foster 

18 child (as defined in section 152(f)(1)(C)). 

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The applicable 

21 amount is the amount, not to exceed the 

22 maximum credit amount, elected by the 

23 taxpayer. 

24 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM CREDIT AMOUNT.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The max2 imum credit amount is $5,000. 

3 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR CER4 TAIN ADOPTED CHILDREN.—In the 

5 case of a qualifying child who is 

6 adopted by the taxpayer and who is 

7 over the age of 5 on the date the 

8 adoption becomes final, the maximum 

9 credit amount shall be reduced by 

10 $500 for each year by which the age 

11 attained by the qualifying child on the 

12 date the adoption becomes final is 

13 over the age of 5. 

14 ‘‘(C) EARNED INCOME AMOUNT.—The 

15 term ‘earned income amount’ means the 

16 amount of earned income (within the meaning 

17 of section 32) which is taken into account in 

18 computing taxable income for the taxable year. 

19 For purposes of the preceding sentence, any 

20 amount excluded from gross income by reason 

21 of section 112 shall be treated as earned income 

22 which is taken into account in computing tax23 able income for the taxable year. 

24 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LOW-INCOME

25 INDIVIDUALS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a tax2 payer described in subparagraph (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) the applicable amount shall not 

4 exceed the lesser of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the maximum credit amount, 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(II) the applicable percentage of 

8 the earned income amount of the tax9 payer for the taxable year, and 

10 ‘‘(ii) paragraph (2)(F) shall be ap11 plied— 

12 ‘‘(I) by substituting ‘15 taxable 

13 years’ for ‘10 taxable years’ in clause 

14 (i) thereof, and 

15 ‘‘(II) by substituting ‘age of 0’ 

16 for ‘age of 5’ each place it appears in 

17 clause (ii). 

18 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER DESCRIBED.—A taxpayer 

19 is described in this subparagraph if the increase 

20 in credits allowed under subpart C for the tax21 able year by reason of subsection (d)(1) (deter22 mined without regard to paragraph (1)(B)) is 

23 less than the amount that would be so deter24 mined if subsection (d)(1) were applied without 

25 regard to subparagraph (B) thereof. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(C) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

2 purposes of subparagraph (A)— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The applicable 

4 percentage is 25 percent. 

5 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

6 ADOPTED CHILDREN.—In the case of a 

7 qualifying child who is adopted by the tax8 payer and who is over the age of 5 on the 

9 date the adoption becomes final, the appli10 cable percentage shall be reduced by 2.5 

11 percentage points for each year by which 

12 the age attained by the qualifying child on 

13 the date the adoption becomes final is over 

14 the age of 5. 

15 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR YEAR OF BIRTH OR

16 ADOPTION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a quali18 fying child who is born or adopted during the 

19 taxable year and with respect to whom an elec20 tion is made under this subsection— 

21 ‘‘(i) subsection (h)(7) shall not apply, 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) no credit shall be allowed under 

24 this section with respect to such qualifying 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 5296 IH

1 child unless the taxpayer includes one of 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(I) In the case of a qualifying 

4 child who is adopted, the adoption 

5 taxpayer identification number of such 

6 child. 

7 ‘‘(II) A social security number 

8 (within the meaning of subsection 

9 (h)(7)) of such child. 

10 ‘‘(III) Such documentation as de11 termined by the Secretary as appro12 priate to establish that the qualifying 

13 child qualifies for a social security 

14 number (within the meaning of sub15 section (h)(7)). 

16 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In any case in 

18 which a taxpayer does not include a social 

19 security number (within the meaning of 

20 subsection (h)(7)) of a qualifying child 

21 with respect to whom an election is made 

22 under this subsection on the return of tax 

23 for the taxable year of birth or adoption— 

24 ‘‘(I) the tax imposed by this 

25 chapter for the taxable year sucVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Dec 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5296.IH H5296

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ceeding the taxable year in which the 

2 birth or adoption of the qualifying 

3 child occurs shall be increased by the 

4 excess of the amount of the increase 

5 in credit under paragraph (1) over the 

6 amounts of tax imposed by paragraph 

7 (2) for the preceding taxable year, 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) paragraph (2) shall not 

10 apply with respect to such increase for 

11 such taxable year or any subsequent 

12 taxable year. 

13 For purposes of this title, any increase in 

14 tax under this subparagraph shall be treat15 ed in the same manner as an increase in 

16 tax under paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION IF SOCIAL SECURITY

18 NUMBER PROVIDED.—Clause (i) shall not 

19 apply if the taxpayer includes on the re20 turn of tax for the taxable year succeeding 

21 the taxable year in which the birth or 

22 adoption of the qualifying child occurs the 

23 social security number (within the meaning 

24 of subsection (h)(7)) of such qualifying 

25 child. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•HR 5296 IH

1 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATIONS.— 

2 The Secretary shall take such steps as necessary, in3 cluding through regulations and other guidance, in 

4 order to— 

5 ‘‘(A) enable and encourage taxpayers to 

6 claim an increased credit under this subsection 

7 as soon as practical after the birth or adoption 

8 of a child, including through a process available 

9 on the internet, 

10 ‘‘(B) expedite the processing of refunds in 

11 connection with an election to claim the in12 creased credit on a prior year return under 

13 paragraph (3), 

14 ‘‘(C) prevent fraud and abuse of the in15 creased credit, including, if necessary, through 

16 the submission of additional third party infor17 mation related to the birth or adoption of a 

18 child with respect to whom an increased credit 

19 is claimed under this subsection, and 

20 ‘‘(D) provide annual information to elect21 ing taxpayers relating to outstanding liability 

22 with respect to offsetting reductions under 

23 paragraph (2).’’. 

24 (b) CREDITS NOT ALLOWED AGAINST OFFSET.— 

25 Section 26(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•HR 5296 IH

1 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph 

2 (X), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph 

3 (Y) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the 

4 following new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(Z) section 24(i)(2) (relating to offset of 

6 advanced child tax credit in year of birth or 

7 adoption).’’. 

8 (c) MATH ERROR AUTHORITY.—Section 6213(g)(2) 

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik10 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (P), by striking the 

11 period at the end of subparagraph (Q) and inserting ‘‘, 

12 and’’, and by inserting after subparagraph (Q) the fol13 lowing new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(R) in the case of a taxpayer to whom 

15 section 24(i)(2) applies, an omission of correct 

16 information relating to the amount of any in17 crease allowed under section 24(i), the applica18 ble fraction (as defined in such section) of such 

19 increase, or the determination of whether the 

20 taxpayer is described in section 

21 24(i)(2)(C)(ii)(II).’’. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•HR 5296 IH

1 shall apply to taxable years beginning after Decem2 ber 31, 2019. 

3 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR ELECTION TO CLAIM

4 CREDIT ON PRIOR YEAR RETURN.—In the case of a 

5 taxpayer who makes an election under section 

6 24(i)(3) (as added by subsection (a)) with respect to 

7 a child born before January 1, 2021 (determined 

8 without regard to such section), the amendments 

9 made by this section shall apply to taxable years be10 ginning after December 31, 2018. 

11 (e) GAO STUDY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States shall submit to Con15 gress a report on taxpayers making an election 

16 under section 24(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986, as added by subsection (a). 

18 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The report sub19 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) The total number of taxpayers making 

22 such election for each month during 2019, and 

23 the average number of days occurring during 

24 the period beginning on the date on which such 

25 election is made and ending on the date on 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•HR 5296 IH

1 which the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

2 Secretary’s designee) makes a determination 

3 that an increase under such section is allowed. 

4 (B) The total number of taxpayers receiv5 ing an increased credit under such section dur6 ing 2019, and the average number of days oc7 curring during the period beginning on the date 

8 on which such election is made and ending on 

9 the date on which any refund related to such 

10 increase is paid. 

11 (C) An identification of any excessive delay 

12 in any of the periods described in subpara13 graphs (A) and (B), and a description of the 

14 causes for such delay, with recommendations to 

15 address those excessive delays. 

16 (D) The total number of taxpayers making 

17 such election who failed to submit a social secu18 rity number of the qualifying child or such 

19 other information required pursuant to section 

20 24(i)(6)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986 (as added by subsection (a)), and a de22 scription of the barriers preventing taxpayers 

23 from meeting such requirements, with rec24 ommendations on how to increase taxpayer 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•HR 5296 IH

1 compliance and address delays caused by other 

2 State and Federal agencies. 

3 (E) The total number of elections for 

4 deferment under section 24(i)(2)(C)(ii) of such 

5 Code (as added by subsection (a)) and the num6 ber of such elections permitted. 

7 (F) The total number of taxpayers not re8 quired to make offsetting increases in tax under 

9 section 24(i)(2)(A) of such Code (as added by 

10 subsection (a)) due to the death of the applica11 ble qualifying child or the taxpayer and the rev12 enue impact of such exceptions. 

13 (G) A list of regulatory and legislative op14 tions, determined in consultation with family 

15 and medical leave experts, on the feasibility of 

16 expanding Federal tax benefits, including 

17 through interaction with programs administered 

18 by States, insurance companies, and employers, 

19 to support taxpayers who take different types of 

20 leave to which the Family and Medical Leave 

21 Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) applies. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS