II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1371 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to strengthen the earned 

income tax credit and the child tax credit. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 15, 2017 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. REED, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. NELSON, Mr. CARPER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, 

Mr. BOOKER, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. COONS, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. KING, Mr. UDALL, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. TESTER, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. SCHATZ) 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 strengthen 

the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. 

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 ‘‘Working Families Tax 

5 Relief Act of 2017’’. 


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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 and inserting ‘‘$9,230’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,280’’ in the last col11 umn and inserting ‘‘$10,900’’. 

12 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Subparagraph 

13 (B) of section 32(j)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986 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) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

22 clause: 

23 ‘‘(iii) in the case of the $9,230 and 

24 $10,900 amounts in the table in subsection 

25 (b)(2)(A), by substituting ‘calendar year 


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1 2016’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in subpara2 graph (B) of such section 1.’’. 

3 (b) CREDIT INCREASE AND REDUCTION IN PHASE4 OUT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH NO CHILDREN.—The table 

5 contained in section 32(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

6 Code of 1986 is amended— 

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

8 the fourth row and inserting ‘‘15.3’’; and 

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

10 the fourth row and inserting ‘‘15.3’’. 

11 (c) CREDIT ALLOWED FOR CERTAIN CHILDLESS IN12 DIVIDUALS OVER AGE 21.—Subclause (II) of section 

13 32(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘age 25’’ and inserting ‘‘age 21’’. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

17 December 31, 2016. 

18 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING THE CHILD TAX CREDIT. 

19 (a) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF CREDIT FOR TAX20 PAYERS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.—Subsection (a) of sec21 tion 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

22 to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—There shall be al24 lowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter 

25 for the taxable year an amount equal to the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) with respect to each qualifying child of the 

2 taxpayer who has not attained 6 years of age before 

3 the close of such taxable year and for which the tax4 payer is allowed a deduction under section 151, an 

5 amount equal to $3,000, and 

6 ‘‘(2) with respect to each qualifying child of the 

7 taxpayer who has attained 6 years of age before the 

8 close of such taxable year and for which the tax9 payer is allowed a deduction under section 151, an 

10 amount equal to $1,000.’’. 

11 (b) INCREASE IN PORTION OF CREDIT REFUNDABLE

12 FOR TAXPAYERS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.—Clause (i) of 

13 section 24(d)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

14 is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i)(I) in the case of a taxpayer with 

16 a qualifying child who has not attained 6 

17 years of age before the close of the taxable 

18 year, 45 percent of so much of the tax19 payer’s earned income (within the meaning 

20 of section 32) which is taken into account 

21 in computing taxable income for the tax22 able year, or 

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of a taxpayer not de24 scribed in subclause (I), 15 percent of so 

25 much of the taxpayer’s earned income 


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1 (within the meaning of section 32) which is 

2 taken into account in computing taxable 

3 income for the taxable year as exceeds 

4 $3,000, or’’. 

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

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

7 December 31, 2016. 

8 SEC. 4. INDEXING THE CHILD TAX CREDIT FOR INFLATION. 

9 (a) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Section 24 of the 

10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 

11 3, is amended by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(h) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxable 

15 year beginning in a calendar year after 2017, each 

16 of the dollar amounts in subsections (a) and (b)(2) 

17 shall each be increased by an amount equal to— 

18 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

19 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter20 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

21 year in which the taxable year begins, deter22 mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2016’ for 

23 ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

24 thereof. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—Any increase determined 

2 under the preceding sentence shall be rounded to the 

3 nearest multiple of $50.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

5 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

6 December 31, 2017. 

7 SEC. 5. SIMPLIFYING THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. 

8 (a) MODIFICATION OF ABANDONED SPOUSE RULE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32(c)(1) of the In10 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(G) CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS LIV13 ING APART.—For purposes of this section, an 

14 individual who— 

15 ‘‘(i) is married (within the meaning of 

16 section 7703(a)) and files a separate re17 turn for the taxable year, 

18 ‘‘(ii) lives with a qualifying child of 

19 the individual for more than one-half of 

20 such taxable year, and 

21 ‘‘(iii)(I) during the last 6 months of 

22 such taxable year, does not have the same 

23 principal place of abode as the individual’s 

24 spouse, or 


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1 ‘‘(II) has a legally binding separation 

2 agreement with the individual’s spouse and 

3 is not a member of the same household 

4 with the individual’s spouse by the end of 

5 the taxable year, 

6 shall not be considered as married.’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (A) The last sentence of section 

9 32(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

10 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘section 7703’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘section 7703(a)’’. 

12 (B) Section 32(d) of such Code is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘In the case of an individual who is 

14 married (within the meaning of section 7703)’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘In the case of an individual who 

16 is married (within the meaning of section 

17 7703(a)) and is not described in subsection 

18 (c)(1)(G)’’. 

19 (b) ELIMINATION OF DISQUALIFIED INVESTMENT

20 INCOME TEST.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32 of the Internal 

22 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking sub23 section (i). 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) Section 32(j)(1)(B)(i) of such Code, as 

2 amended by this Act, is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘subsections (b)(2)(A) and (i)(1)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(A)’’. 

5 (B) Section 32(j)(2) of such Code is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any dollar amount in sub8 section (b)(2)(A) (after being increased under sub9 paragraph (B) thereof), after being increased under 

10 paragraph (1), is not a multiple of $10, such 

11 amount shall be rounded to the next nearest mul12 tiple of $10.’’. 

13 (c) SIMPLIFICATION OF RULES REGARDING PRES14 ENCE OF QUALIFYING CHILD.— 

15 (1) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT FOR

16 WORKER WITHOUT QUALIFYING CHILD IF QUALI17 FYING CHILD CLAIMED BY ANOTHER MEMBER OF

18 FAMILY.—Section 32(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

19 Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(H) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT

22 FOR WORKER WITHOUT QUALIFYING CHILD IF

23 QUALIFYING CHILD CLAIMED BY ANOTHER

24 MEMBER OF FAMILY.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) GENERAL RULE.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii), in the case of 2 or 

3 more eligible individuals who may claim for 

4 such taxable year the same individual as a 

5 qualifying child, if such individual is 

6 claimed as a qualifying child by such an el7 igible individual, then any other such eligi8 ble individual who does not make such a 

9 claim of such child or of any other quali10 fying child may be considered an eligible 

11 individual without a qualifying child for 

12 purposes of the credit allowed under this 

13 section for such taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION IF QUALIFYING

15 CHILD CLAIMED BY PARENT.—If an indi16 vidual is claimed as a qualifying child for 

17 any taxable year by an eligible individual 

18 who is a parent of such child, then no 

19 other custodial parent of such child who 

20 does not make such a claim of such child 

21 may be considered an eligible individual 

22 without a qualifying child for purposes of 

23 the credit allowed under this section for 

24 such taxable year.’’. 


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1 (2) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT FOR

2 WORKER WITHOUT QUALIFYING CHILD IF QUALI3 FYING CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE VALID SOCIAL SECU4 RITY NUMBER.—Subparagraph (F) of section 

5 32(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(F) INDIVIDUALS WHO DO NOT INCLUDE

8 TIN, ETC., OF ANY QUALIFYING CHILD.—In the 

9 case of any eligible individual who has one or 

10 more qualifying children, if no qualifying child 

11 of such individual is taken into account under 

12 subsection (b) by reason of paragraph (3)(D), 

13 for purposes of the credit allowed under this 

14 section, such individual may be considered an 

15 eligible individual without a qualifying child.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2016. 

Æ 


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