II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1151 

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 17, 2017 

Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. CAPITO, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a nonrefundable credit for working family caregivers. 

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 ‘‘Credit for Caring Act 

5 of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25D the fol10 lowing new section: 

2 

•S 1151 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 25E. WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli3 gible caregiver, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

4 the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an 

5 amount equal to 30 percent of the qualified expenses paid 

6 by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the extent that 

7 such expenses exceed $2,000. 

8 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount allowed as a 

10 credit under subsection (a) for the taxable year shall 

11 not exceed $3,000. 

12 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—In the 

13 case of any taxable year beginning after 2017, the 

14 dollar amount contained in paragraph (1) shall be 

15 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 

16 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 

17 ‘‘(B) the medical care cost adjustment de18 termined under section 213(d)(10)(B)(ii) for 

19 the calendar year in which the taxable year be20 gins, determined by substituting ‘2016’ for 

21 ‘1996’ in subclause (II) thereof. 

22 If any increase determined under the preceding sen23 tence is not a multiple of $50, such increase shall 

24 be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50. 

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•S 1151 IS

1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘eligible caregiver’ means an individual 

3 who— 

4 ‘‘(1) during the taxable year pays or incurs 

5 qualified expenses in connection with providing care 

6 for a qualified care recipient, and 

7 ‘‘(2) has earned income (as defined in section 

8 32(c)(2)) for the taxable year in excess of $7,500. 

9 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT.—For purposes of 

10 this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified care re12 cipient’ means, with respect to any taxable year, any 

13 individual who— 

14 ‘‘(A) is the spouse of the eligible caregiver, 

15 or any other person who bears a relationship to 

16 the eligible caregiver described in any of sub17 paragraphs (A) through (H) of section 

18 152(d)(2), and 

19 ‘‘(B) has been certified, before the due 

20 date for filing the return of tax for the taxable 

21 year, by a licensed health care practitioner (as 

22 defined in section 7702B(c)(4)) as being an in23 dividual with long-term care needs described in 

24 paragraph (3) for a period— 

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1 ‘‘(i) which is at least 180 consecutive 

2 days, and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a portion of which occurs within 

4 the taxable year. 

5 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR MAKING CERTIFICATION.— 

6 Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), a certification 

7 shall not be treated as valid unless it is made within 

the 391 8 ⁄2-month period ending on such due date (or 

9 such other period as the Secretary prescribes). 

10 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALS WITH LONG-TERM CARE

11 NEEDS.—An individual is described in this para12 graph if the individual meets any of the following re13 quirements: 

14 ‘‘(A) The individual is at least 6 years of 

15 age and— 

16 ‘‘(i) is unable to perform (without 

17 substantial assistance from another indi18 vidual) at least 2 activities of daily living 

19 (as defined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due 

20 to a loss of functional capacity, or 

21 ‘‘(ii) requires substantial supervision 

22 to protect such individual from threats to 

23 health and safety due to severe cognitive 

24 impairment and is unable to perform, with25 out reminding or cuing assistance, at least 

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1 1 activity of daily living (as so defined) or 

2 to the extent provided in regulations pre3 scribed by the Secretary (in consultation 

4 with the Secretary of Health and Human 

5 Services), is unable to engage in age ap6 propriate activities. 

7 ‘‘(B) The individual is at least 2 but not 

8 6 years of age and is unable due to a loss of 

9 functional capacity to perform (without sub10 stantial assistance from another individual) at 

11 least 2 of the following activities: eating, trans12 ferring, or mobility. 

13 ‘‘(C) The individual is under 2 years of age 

14 and requires specific durable medical equipment 

15 by reason of a severe health condition or re16 quires a skilled practitioner trained to address 

17 the individual’s condition to be available if the 

18 individual’s parents or guardians are absent. 

19 ‘‘(e) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—For purposes of this 

20 section— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), 

22 the term ‘qualified expenses’ means expenditures for 

23 goods, services, and supports that— 

24 ‘‘(A) assist a qualified care recipient with 

25 accomplishing activities of daily living (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 May 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1151.IS S1151
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1 fined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) and instru2 mental activities of daily living (as defined in 

3 section 1915(k)(6)(F) of the Social Security 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n(k)(6)(F))), and 

5 ‘‘(B) are provided solely for use by such 

6 qualified care recipient. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR OTHER TAX BENE8 FITS.—The amount of qualified expenses otherwise 

9 taken into account under paragraph (1) with respect 

10 to an individual shall be reduced by the sum of any 

11 amounts paid for the benefit of such individual for 

12 the taxable year which are— 

13 ‘‘(A) taken into account under section 21 

14 or 213, or 

15 ‘‘(B) excluded from gross income under 

16 section 129, 223(f), or 529A(c)(1)(B). 

17 ‘‘(3) GOODS, SERVICES, AND SUPPORTS.—For 

18 purposes of paragraph (1), goods, services, and sup19 ports (as defined by the Secretary) shall include— 

20 ‘‘(A) human assistance, supervision, cuing 

21 and standby assistance, 

22 ‘‘(B) assistive technologies and devices (in23 cluding remote health monitoring), 

24 ‘‘(C) environmental modifications (includ25 ing home modifications), 

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1 ‘‘(D) health maintenance tasks (such as 

2 medication management), 

3 ‘‘(E) information, 

4 ‘‘(F) transportation of the qualified care 

5 recipient, 

6 ‘‘(G) non-health items (such as inconti7 nence supplies), and 

8 ‘‘(H) coordination of and services for peo9 ple who live in their own home, a residential 

10 setting, or a nursing facility, as well as the cost 

11 of care in these or other locations. 

12 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED EXPENSES FOR ELIGIBLE

13 CAREGIVERS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 

14 following shall be treated as qualified expenses if 

15 paid or incurred by an eligible caregiver: 

16 ‘‘(A) Expenditures for respite care for a 

17 qualified care recipient. 

18 ‘‘(B) Expenditures for counseling, support 

19 groups, or training relating to caring for a 

20 qualified care recipient. 

21 ‘‘(C) Lost wages for unpaid time off due to 

22 caring for a qualified care recipient as verified 

23 by an employer. 

24 ‘‘(D) Travel costs of the eligible caregiver 

25 related to caring for a qualified care recipient. 

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1 ‘‘(E) Expenditures for technologies, as de2 termined by the Secretary, that assist an eligi3 ble caregiver in providing care for a qualified 

4 care recipient. 

5 ‘‘(5) HUMAN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘human 

6 assistance’ includes the costs of a direct care worker. 

7 ‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—An expense shall not 

8 be taken into account under this section unless the 

9 eligible caregiver substantiates such expense under 

10 such regulations or guidance as the Secretary shall 

11 provide. 

12 ‘‘(7) MILEAGE RATE.—For purposes of this sec13 tion, the mileage rate for the use of a passenger 

14 automobile shall be the standard mileage rate used 

15 to calculate the deductible costs of operating an 

16 automobile for medical purposes. Such rate may be 

17 used in lieu of actual automobile-related travel ex18 penses. 

19 ‘‘(8) COORDINATION WITH ABLE ACCOUNTS.— 

20 Qualified expenses for a taxable year shall not in21 clude contributions to an ABLE account (as defined 

22 in section 529A). 

23 ‘‘(f) PHASE OUT BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN24 COME.—For purposes of this section— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit 

2 allowable under subsection (a) shall be reduced (but 

3 not below zero) by $100 for each $1,000 (or fraction 

4 thereof) by which the taxpayer’s modified adjusted 

5 gross income exceeds the threshold amount. 

6 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.— 

7 The term ‘modified adjusted gross income’ means 

8 adjusted gross income increased by any amount ex9 cluded from gross income under section 911, 931, or 

10 933. 

11 ‘‘(3) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—The term ‘thresh12 old amount’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) $150,000 in the case of a joint re14 turn, and 

15 ‘‘(B) $75,000 in any other case. 

16 ‘‘(4) INDEXING.—In the case of any taxable 

17 year beginning in a calendar year after 2017, each 

18 dollar amount contained in paragraph (3) shall be 

19 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 

20 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 

21 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter22 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

23 year in which the taxable year begins, deter24 mined by substituting ‘‘calendar year 2016’’ for 

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1 ‘‘calendar year 1992’’ in subparagraph (B) 

2 thereof. 

3 ‘‘(5) ROUNDING RULE.—If any increase deter4 mined under paragraph (4) is not a multiple of $50, 

5 such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest 

6 multiple of $50. 

7 ‘‘(g) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER

8 WITH CARE RECIPIENT (QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT) 

9 IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No credit shall be al10 lowed under this section to a taxpayer with respect to any 

11 qualified care recipient unless the taxpayer includes the 

12 name and taxpayer identification number of such indi13 vidual, and the identification number of the licensed health 

14 care practitioner certifying such individual, on the return 

15 of tax for the taxable year.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

18 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat19 ing to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Working family caregivers.’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

22 December 31, 2016. 

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