II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1994 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase certain fuel taxes 

and to strengthen the earned income tax credit and make permanent 

certain tax provisions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Mr. CARPER 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 increase 

certain fuel taxes and to strengthen the earned income 

tax credit and make permanent certain tax provisions 

under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Tax Relief And #FixTheTrustFund For Infrastructure 

6 Certainty Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘TRAFFIC Relief Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—FUEL TAXES 

Sec. 101. Increase in tax on gasoline. 

Sec. 102. Increase in tax on diesel fuel and kerosene. 

Sec. 103. Allocation in accounts in highway trust fund. 

Sec. 104. Floor stocks taxes. 

TITLE II—TAX RELIEF FOR WORKING FAMILIES 

Sec. 201. Permanent extension of and modifications to the child tax credit. 

Sec. 202. Permanent extension of modifications to earned income tax credit. 

Sec. 203. Strengthening the earned income tax credit. 

Sec. 204. Simplifying the earned income tax credit. 

3 TITLE I—FUEL TAXES 

4 SEC. 101. INCREASE IN TAX ON GASOLINE. 

5 (a) PHASED-IN INCREASE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) of section 

7 4081(a)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘aviation gasoline,’’ and all 

9 that follows and inserting ‘‘aviation gasoline— 

10 ‘‘(I) 22.3 cents per gallon in the 

11 case of gasoline removed, entered, or 

12 sold in calendar year 2016, 

13 ‘‘(II) 26.3 cents per gallon in the 

14 case of gasoline removed, entered, or 

15 sold in calendar year 2017, 

16 ‘‘(III) 30.3 cents per gallon in 

17 the case of gasoline removed, entered, 

18 or sold in calendar year 2018, and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) 34.3 cents per gallon in the 

2 case of gasoline removed, entered, or 

3 sold in calendar years beginning after 

4 December 31, 2018,’’. 

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

6 by this subsection shall apply to gasoline removed, 

7 entered, or sold on or after the first day of the first 

8 calendar quarter beginning not less than 60 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 

12 4081(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(E) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of gas17 oline removed, entered, or sold in a cal18 endar year after 2019, the 34.3 cents 

19 amount in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) shall 

20 be increased by an amount equal to— 

21 ‘‘(I) such cents amount, multi22 plied by 

23 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust24 ment determined under section 1(f)(3) 

25 for such calendar year by substituting 


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1 ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar 

2 year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) there3 of. 

4 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If the amount as 

5 increased under clause (i) is not a multiple 

6 of 0.1 cents, such amount shall be rounded 

7 to the nearest multiple of 0.1 cents.’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

9 by this subsection shall apply to gasoline removed, 

10 entered, or sold after December 31, 2018. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TAX

12 ON COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The second sentence of sub14 paragraph (A) of section 4041(a)(3) of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘18.3 

16 cents’’ and inserting ‘‘equal to the rate of tax in ef17 fect under section 4081(a)(2)(A)(i) for the calendar 

18 year in which such gas is sold or used,’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

20 by this subsection shall apply to compressed natural 

21 gas sold or used on or after the first day of the first 

22 calendar quarter beginning not less than 60 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TAX

25 ON METHANOL AND ETHANOL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

2 4041(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘shall be—’’ and all that fol4 lows and inserting ‘‘shall be equal to 61.7 percent of 

5 the rate of tax in effect under section 

6 4081(a)(2)(A)(i) for the calendar year in which such 

7 fuel is sold or used.’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

9 by this subsection shall apply to methanol and eth10 anol fuel sold or used on or after the first day of the 

11 first calendar quarter beginning not less than 60 

12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 102. INCREASE IN TAX ON DIESEL FUEL AND KER14 OSENE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Clause (iii) of section 

16 4081(a)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘kerosene’’ and all that follows and 

18 inserting ‘‘kerosene— 

19 ‘‘(I) 28.3 cents per gallon in the 

20 case of diesel fuel or kerosene re21 moved, entered, or sold in calendar 

22 year 2016, 

23 ‘‘(II) 32.3 cents per gallon in the 

24 case of diesel fuel or kerosene reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1994.IS S1994

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1 moved, entered, or sold in calendar 

2 year 2017, 

3 ‘‘(III) 36.3 cents per gallon in 

4 the case of diesel fuel or kerosene re5 moved, entered, or sold in calendar 

6 year 2018, and 

7 ‘‘(IV) 40.3 cents per gallon in the 

8 case of diesel fuel or kerosene re9 moved, entered, or sold in calendar 

10 years beginning after December 31, 

11 2018,’’. 

12 (b) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Subparagraph 

13 (E) of section 4081(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986, as added by this title, is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii), 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘If the amount as increased 

17 under clause (i)’’ in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

18 and inserting ‘‘If any amount as increased under 

19 clause (i) or (ii)’’, 

20 (3) by striking ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ in the heading of 

21 clause (i) and inserting ‘‘TAX ON GASOLINE’’, and 

22 (4) by inserting after clause (i) the following 

23 new clause: 

24 ‘‘(ii) TAX ON DIESEL FUEL OR KER25 OSENE.—In the case of diesel fuel or kerVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1994.IS S1994

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1 osene removed, entered, or sold in a cal2 endar year after 2019, the 40.3 cents 

3 amount in subparagraph (A)(iii)(IV) shall 

4 be increased by an amount equal to— 

5 ‘‘(I) such cents amount, multi6 plied by 

7 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust8 ment determined under section 1(f)(3) 

9 for such calendar year by substituting 

10 ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar 

11 year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) there12 of.’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TAX

14 ON DIESEL-WATER FUEL EMULSIONS.—Subparagraph 

15 (D) of section 4081(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code 

16 of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)(iii) 

17 shall be applied by substituting ‘19.7 cents’ for ‘24.3 

18 cents’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘the rate of tax shall be equal to 

19 81 percent of the rate of tax in effect under subparagraph 

20 (A)(iii) for the calendar year in which such emulsion is 

21 removed, entered, or sold’’. 

22 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TAX

23 ON CERTAIN ALTERNATIVE FUELS.—Clause (ii) of section 

24 4041(a)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘24.3 cents per gallon’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘the rate of tax specified in section 4081(a)(2)(A)(iii) 

2 which is in effect at the time of such sale or use’’. 

3 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO RATE

4 OF TAX ON BUSES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

6 6427(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘7.4 cents per gallon less’’ and 

8 all that follows and inserting ‘‘the aggregate rate at 

9 which tax was imposed on such fuel by section 

10 4041(a) or 4081, as the case may be, reduced by the 

11 amount determined under subparagraph (E).’’. 

12 (2) AMOUNT DETERMINED.—Paragraph (2) of 

13 section 6427(b) of such Code is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(E) AMOUNT DETERMINED.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), the amount determined 

18 under this paragraph is— 

19 ‘‘(I) 8.62 cents per gallon in the 

20 case of fuel used in calendar year 

21 2016, 

22 ‘‘(II) 9.84 cents per gallon in the 

23 case of fuel used in calendar year 

24 2017, 


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1 ‘‘(III) 11.05 cents per gallon in 

2 the case of fuel used in calendar year 

3 2018, and 

4 ‘‘(IV) 12.27 cents per gallon in 

5 the case of fuel used in calendar years 

6 beginning after December 31, 2018. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

8 In the case of fuel used in a calendar year 

9 after 2019, the 12.27 cents amount in 

10 clause (i)(IV) shall be increased by an 

11 amount equal to— 

12 ‘‘(I) such cents amount, multi13 plied by 

14 ‘‘(II) the cost-of-living adjust15 ment determined under section 1(f)(3) 

16 for such calendar year by substituting 

17 ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar 

18 year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) there19 of.’’. 

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

21 this section shall apply to diesel fuel, kerosene, and diesel22 water fuel emulsions removed, entered, or sold on or after 

23 the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning not 

24 less than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 SEC. 103. ALLOCATION IN ACCOUNTS IN HIGHWAY TRUST 

2 FUND. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 9503(e) 

4 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik5 ing subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the fol6 lowing new subparagraphs: 

7 ‘‘(A) except as otherwise provided in this 

8 sentence— 

9 ‘‘(i) 2.86 cents per gallon with respect 

10 to taxes imposed during calendar year 

11 2015, 

12 ‘‘(ii) 3.66 cents per gallon with re13 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

14 year 2016, 

15 ‘‘(iii) 4.46 cents per gallon with re16 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

17 year 2017, 

18 ‘‘(iv) 5.26 cents per gallon with re19 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

20 year 2018, and 

21 ‘‘(v) 6.06 cents per gallon with respect 

22 to taxes imposed during any calendar year 

23 after 2018, 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of any partially exempt 

25 methanol or ethanol fuel (as defined in section 


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1 4041(m)) none of the alcohol in which consists 

2 of ethanol— 

3 ‘‘(i) 1.43 cents per gallon with respect 

4 to taxes imposed during calendar year 

5 2015, 

6 ‘‘(ii) 1.92 cents per gallon with re7 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

8 year 2016, 

9 ‘‘(iii) 2.42 cents per gallon with re10 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

11 year 2017, 

12 ‘‘(iv) 2.91 cents per gallon with re13 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

14 year 2018, and 

15 ‘‘(v) 3.40 cents per gallon with respect 

16 to taxes imposed during any calendar year 

17 after 2018, 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of liquefied natural gas— 

19 ‘‘(i) 1.86 cents per gallon with respect 

20 to taxes imposed during calendar year 

21 2015, 

22 ‘‘(ii) 2.66 cents per gallon with re23 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

24 year 2016, 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 3.46 cents per gallon with re2 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

3 year 2017, 

4 ‘‘(iv) 4.26 cents per gallon with re5 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

6 year 2018, and 

7 ‘‘(v) 5.06 cents per gallon with respect 

8 to taxes imposed during any calendar year 

9 after 2018, 

10 ‘‘(D) in the case of liquefied petroleum 

11 gas— 

12 ‘‘(i) 2.13 cents per gallon with respect 

13 to taxes imposed during calendar year 

14 2015, 

15 ‘‘(ii) 2.93 cents per gallon with re16 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

17 year 2016, 

18 ‘‘(iii) 3.73 cents per gallon with re19 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

20 year 2017, 

21 ‘‘(iv) 4.53 cents per gallon with re22 spect to taxes imposed during calendar 

23 year 2018, and 


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1 ‘‘(v) 5.33 cents per gallon with respect 

2 to taxes imposed during any calendar year 

3 after 2018, and 

4 ‘‘(E) in the case of compressed natural 

5 gas— 

6 ‘‘(i) 9.71 cents per MCF (determined 

7 at standard temperature and pressure) 

8 with respect to taxes imposed during cal9 endar year 2015, 

10 ‘‘(ii) 10.51 cents per MCF (deter11 mined at standard temperature and pres12 sure) with respect to taxes imposed during 

13 calendar year 2016, 

14 ‘‘(iii) 11.31 cents per MCF (deter15 mined at standard temperature and pres16 sure) with respect to taxes imposed during 

17 calendar year 2017, 

18 ‘‘(iv) 12.11 cents per MCF (deter19 mined at standard temperature and pres20 sure) with respect to taxes imposed during 

21 calendar year 2018, and 

22 ‘‘(v) 12.91 cents per MCF (deter23 mined at standard temperature and pres24 sure) with respect to taxes imposed during 

25 any calendar year after 2018.’’. 


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1 (b) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Section 9503(e) 

2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add3 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(6) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any cal6 endar year beginning after 2019, the amounts 

7 specified in subparagraphs (A)(v), (B)(v), 

8 (C)(v), (D)(v), and (E)(v) of paragraph (2) 

9 shall each be increased by an amount equal 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(i) such amount, multiplied by 

12 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de13 termined under section 1(f)(3) for such 

14 calendar year by substituting ‘calendar 

15 year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub16 paragraph (B) thereof. 

17 ‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—Any increase under 

18 subparagraph (A) shall be rounded to the near19 est 0.1 cents.’’. 

20 SEC. 104. FLOOR STOCKS TAXES. 

21 (a) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—In the case of any taxable 

22 fuel which is held on the floor stocks tax date by any per23 son, there is hereby imposed a floor stocks tax equal to 

24 the excess of the tax which would be imposed on such fuel 

25 under section 4041 or 4081 of the Internal Revenue Code 


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1 of 1986 had the taxable event occurred on the floor stocks 

2 tax date over the tax paid under any such section on such 

3 fuel. 

4 (b) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY5 MENT.— 

6 (1) LIABILITY FOR TAX.—A person holding a 

7 fuel on the floor stocks tax date to which the tax im8 posed by subsection (a) applies shall be liable for 

9 such tax. 

10 (2) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The tax imposed 

11 by subsection (a) shall be paid in such manner as 

12 the Secretary shall prescribe. 

13 (3) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The tax imposed by 

14 subsection (a) shall be paid on or before the date 

15 which is 6 months after the floor stocks tax date. 

16 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

17 (1) HELD BY A PERSON.—A fuel shall be con18 sidered as held by a person if title thereto has 

19 passed to such person (whether or not delivery to 

20 the person has been made). 

21 (2) TAXABLE FUEL.—The term ‘‘taxable fuel’’ 

22 means— 

23 (A) gasoline (other than aviation gasoline), 

24 diesel fuel, kerosene (other than aviation-grade 

25 kerosene), and diesel-water fuel emulsions; 


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1 (B) fuel taxed under section 4041(a)(2) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (including 

3 methanol and ethanol to which section 4041(m) 

4 of such Code applies); and 

5 (C) compressed natural gas. 

6 (3) FLOOR STOCKS DATE.—The term ‘‘floor 

7 stocks tax date’’ means January 1 of any calendar 

8 year beginning after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act on which a rate of tax under section 4041 

10 or 4081 of such Code increases pursuant to an 

11 amendment made by section 101 or 102. 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

14 (d) EXCEPTION FOR EXEMPT USES.—The tax im15 posed by subsection (a) shall not apply to taxable fuel held 

16 by any person exclusively for any use to the extent a credit 

17 or refund of the tax imposed by a section of such Code 

18 is allowable for such use. 

19 (e) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN VEHICLE

20 TANK.—No tax shall be imposed by subsection (a) on tax21 able fuel held in the tank of a motor vehicle or motorboat. 

22 (f) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF FUEL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—No tax shall be imposed by 

24 subsection (a) on any fuel held on the floor stocks 

25 tax date by any person if the aggregate amount of 


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1 fuel held by such person on such date does not ex2 ceed 2,000 gallons. The preceding sentence shall 

3 apply only if such person submits to the Secretary 

4 (at the time and in the manner required by the Sec5 retary) such information as the Secretary shall re6 quire for purposes of this paragraph. 

7 (2) EXEMPT FUEL.—For purposes of para8 graph (1), there shall not be taken into account fuel 

9 held by any person which is exempt from the tax im10 posed by subsection (a) by reason of subsection (d) 

11 or (e). 

12 (3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For purposes of 

13 this section— 

14 (A) CORPORATIONS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—All persons treated 

16 as a controlled group shall be treated as 1 

17 person. 

18 (ii) CONTROLLED GROUP.—The term 

19 ‘‘controlled group’’ has the meaning given 

20 to such term by subsection (a) of section 

21 1563 of such Code; except that for such 

22 purposes the phrase ‘‘more than 50 per23 cent’’ shall be substituted for the phrase 

24 ‘‘at least 80 percent’’ each place it appears 

25 in such subsection. 


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1 (B) NONINCORPORATED PERSONS UNDER

2 COMMON CONTROL.—Under regulations pre3 scribed by the Secretary, principles similar to 

4 the principles of clause (i) shall apply to a 

5 group of persons under common control where 

6 one or more of such persons is not a corpora7 tion. 

8 (g) OTHER LAWS APPLICABLE.—All provisions of 

9 law, including penalties, applicable with respect to the 

10 taxes imposed by chapter 31 or 32 of such Code shall, 

11 insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provi12 sions of this section, apply with respect to the floor stock 

13 taxes imposed by subsection (a) to the same extent as if 

14 such taxes were imposed by such chapter. 

15 TITLE II—TAX RELIEF FOR 

16 WORKING FAMILIES 

17 SEC. 201. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AND MODIFICATIONS 

18 TO THE CHILD TAX CREDIT. 

19 (a) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF INCREASE IN RE20 FUNDABLE PORTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) of section 

22 24(d)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$3,000’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) 

2 of section 24 of such Code is amended by striking 

3 paragraph (4). 

4 (3) ELIMINATION OF INFLATION ADJUST5 MENT.—Subsection (d) of section 24 of such Code is 

6 amended by striking paragraph (3). 

7 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Section 24 of the 

8 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(g) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.— 

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

12 year beginning in a calendar year after 2014, the 

13 $1,000 amount in subsection (a) and each of the 

14 dollar amounts in subsection (b)(2) shall each be in15 creased by an amount equal to— 

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

17 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter18 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

19 year in which the taxable year begins, deter20 mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2011’ for 

21 ‘calendar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

22 thereof. 

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

24 under the preceding sentence shall be rounded to the 

25 nearest multiple of $50.’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 December 31, 2014. 

4 SEC. 202. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF MODIFICATIONS TO 

5 EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. 

6 (a) INCREASE IN CREDIT PERCENTAGE FOR FAMI7 LIES WITH 3 OR MORE CHILDREN.—Paragraph (1) of 

8 section 32(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘The credit’’ and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The credit’’, and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(B) INCREASED CREDIT PERCENTAGE

16 FOR FAMILIES WITH 3 OR MORE QUALIFYING

17 CHILDREN.—In the case of an eligible indi18 vidual with 3 or more qualifying children, the 

19 table in subparagraph (A) shall be applied by 

20 substituting ‘45’ for ‘40’ in the second column 

21 thereof.’’. 

22 (b) JOINT RETURNS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

24 32(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$5,000.’’. 

3 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Clause (ii) of 

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

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$5,000’’, 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(B)’’, and 

9 (C) by striking ‘‘calendar year 2007’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘calendar year 2008’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 32(b)of 

12 such Code is amended by striking paragraph (3). 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2014. 

16 SEC. 203. STRENGTHENING THE EARNED INCOME TAX 

17 CREDIT. 

18 (a) INCREASED CREDIT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH NO

19 QUALIFYING CHILDREN.— 

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

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

22 of 1986 is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘$4,220’’ in the second col24 umn and inserting ‘‘$8,820’’, and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,280’’ in the last col2 umn and inserting ‘‘$10,425’’. 

3 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS.—Subparagraph 

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

5 of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amended— 

6 (A) in clause (i)— 

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

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

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

10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

11 clause: 

12 ‘‘(iii) in the case of the $8,820 and 

13 $10,4250 amount in the table in sub14 section (b)(2)(A), by substituting ‘calendar 

15 year 2011’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub16 paragraph (B) of such section 1.’’. 

17 (b) CREDIT INCREASE AND REDUCTION IN PHASE18 OUT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH NO CHILDREN.—The table 

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

20 Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amended— 

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

22 the third row and inserting ‘‘15.3’’, and 

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

24 the third row and inserting ‘‘15.3’’. 


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1 (c) CREDIT ALLOWED FOR CERTAIN CHILDLESS IN2 DIVIDUALS OVER AGE 21.—Subclause (II) of section 

3 32(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

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

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

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

7 December 31, 2014. 

8 SEC. 204. SIMPLIFYING THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. 

9 (a) MODIFICATION OF ABANDONED SPOUSE RULE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32(c)(1) of the In11 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(G) CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS LIV14 ING APART.—For purposes of this section, an 

15 individual who— 

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

17 section 7703(a)) and files a separate re18 turn for the taxable year, 

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

20 the individual for more than one-half of 

21 such taxable year, and 

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

23 such taxable year, does not have the same 

24 principal place of abode as the individual’s 

25 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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25 

•S 1994 IS

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

2 amended by this Act, is amended— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘subsections’’ and in4 serting ‘‘subsection’’, and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘and (i)(1)’’. 

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

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any dollar amount in sub9 section (b)(2)(A) (after being increased under sub10 paragraph (B) thereof), after being increased under 

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

12 amount shall be rounded to the next nearest mul13 tiple of $10.’’. 

14 (c) SIMPLIFICATION OF RULES REGARDING PRES15 ENCE OF QUALIFYING CHILD.— 

16 (1) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT FOR

17 WORKER WITHOUT QUALIFYING CHILD IF QUALI18 FYING CHILD CLAIMED BY ANOTHER MEMBER OF

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

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

21 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(H) TAXPAYER ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT

23 FOR WORKER WITHOUT QUALIFYING CHILD IF

24 QUALIFYING CHILD CLAIMED BY ANOTHER

25 MEMBER OF FAMILY.— 


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•S 1994 IS

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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•S 1994 IS

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, 2014. 

Æ 


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