II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3226 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an income tax 

credit for eldercare expenses. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2012 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. MIKULSKI) 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 

an income tax credit for eldercare expenses. 

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 ‘‘Americans Giving care 

5 to Elders (AGE) Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR ELDERCARE EXPENSES. 

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: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 25E. EXPENSES FOR ELDERCARE. 

2 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual 

4 for which there are 1 or more qualifying individuals 

5 (as defined in subsection (b)(1)) with respect to such 

6 individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

7 the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year 

8 an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the 

9 eldercare expenses (as defined in subsection (b)(2)) 

10 paid by such individual during the taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE DEFINED.—For 

12 purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘applicable per13 centage’ means 20 percent reduced (but not below 

14 zero) by 1 percentage point for each $4,000 (or frac15 tion thereof) by which the taxpayer’s adjusted gross 

16 income for the taxable year exceeds $120,000. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS OF QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL AND

18 ELDERCARE EXPENSES.—For purposes of this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

20 ‘qualifying individual’ means the father or mother of 

21 the taxpayer or an ancestor of such father or moth22 er, who requires assistance with activities of daily 

23 living. 

24 ‘‘(2) ELDERCARE EXPENSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eldercare 

2 expenses’ means amounts paid for expenses for 

3 the care of a qualifying individual. 

4 ‘‘(B) CARE CENTERS.—Eldercare expenses 

5 described in subparagraph (A) which are in6 curred for services provided outside the tax7 payer’s household by a care center (as defined 

8 in subparagraph (C)) shall be taken into ac9 count only if such center complies with all ap10 plicable laws and regulations of a State or unit 

11 of local government. 

12 ‘‘(C) CARE CENTER DEFINED.—For pur13 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘care center’ 

14 means any facility which— 

15 ‘‘(i) provides care for more than six 

16 individuals, and 

17 ‘‘(ii) receives a fee, payment, or grant 

18 for providing services for any of the indi19 viduals (regardless of whether such facility 

20 is operated for profit). 

21 ‘‘(c) DOLLAR LIMIT ON AMOUNT CREDITABLE.— 

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

23 eldercare expenses incurred during any taxable year 

24 which may be taken into account under subsection 

25 (a) shall not exceed $6,000. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH DEPENDENT CARE

2 ASSISTANCE EXCLUSION.—The dollar amount in 

3 paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the aggregate 

4 amount excluded from gross income under section 

5 129 for the taxable year. 

6 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO RELATED INDIVIDUALS.— 

9 No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for 

10 any amount paid to an individual— 

11 ‘‘(A) with respect to whom, for the taxable 

12 year, a deduction under section 151(c) (relating 

13 to deduction for personal exemptions for de14 pendents) is allowable either to the taxpayer or 

15 his spouse, or 

16 ‘‘(B) who is a child of the taxpayer (within 

17 the meaning of section 152(f)(1)) who has not 

18 attained the age of 19 at the close of the tax19 able year. 

20 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘taxable 

21 year’ means the taxable year of the taxpayer in 

22 which the service is performed. 

23 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION REQUIRED

24 WITH RESPECT TO SERVICE PROVIDER.—No credit 


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1 shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any amount 

2 paid to any person unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and taxpayer 

4 identification number of such person are in5 cluded on the return claiming the credit, or 

6 ‘‘(B) if such person is an organization de7 scribed in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from 

8 tax under section 501(a), the name and address 

9 of such person are included on the return 

10 claiming the credit. 

11 In the case of a failure to provide the information 

12 required under the preceding sentence, the preceding 

13 sentence shall not apply if it is shown that the tax14 payer exercised due diligence in attempting to pro15 vide the information so required. 

16 ‘‘(3) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION REQUIRED

17 WITH RESPECT TO QUALIFYING INDIVIDUALS.—No 

18 credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) with re19 spect to any qualifying individual unless the tax20 payer identification number of such individual is in21 cluded on the return claiming the credit. 

22 ‘‘(4) MARRIED COUPLES MUST FILE JOINT RE23 TURN.—Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2) 

24 and (3) of section 21(e) shall apply. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No credit shall 

2 be allowed under subsection (a) for any amount with re3 spect to which a credit is allowed under section 21. 

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

5 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the pur6 poses of this section.’’. 

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

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

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in10 serting after the item relating to section 25D the following 

11 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Expenses for eldercare.’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) Section 213(e) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986 is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘or section 25E’’ after 

16 ‘‘section 21’’, and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘AND ELDERS’’ after 

18 ‘‘CERTAIN DEPENDENTS’’ in the heading. 

19 (2) Section 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘, section 25E (relating to 

22 expenses for care of elders),’’ after ‘‘(relating to 

23 expenses for household and dependent care 

24 services necessary for gainful employment)’’ in 

25 subparagraph (H), and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘25E,’’ after ‘‘24,’’ in 

2 subparagraph (L). 

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

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR THE 

7 NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVER SUPPORT 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 Section 303(e)(2) of the Older Americans Act of 

10 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3023(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

11 $187,000,000 for fiscal year 2011’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$187,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $250,000,000 for 

13 each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON FAMILY 

15 CAREGIVING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Older 

17 Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3032 et seq.) is amend18 ed by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 423. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON FAMILY 

20 CAREGIVING. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC OR PRIVATE NONPROFIT ENTI23 TY.—The term ‘public or private nonprofit entity’ 

24 means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a State, a political subdivision of a 

2 State, or an agency or instrumentality of such 

3 a State or political subdivision; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit entity that is described in 

5 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

6 of 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec7 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

8 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means 1 of the 

9 50 States. 

10 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

11 and Human Services shall award a grant to or enter into 

12 a cooperative agreement with a public or private nonprofit 

13 entity to establish a National Resource Center on Family 

14 Caregiving (referred to in this section as the ‘Center’). 

15 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES OF NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER.— 

16 The Center shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) identify, develop, and disseminate informa18 tion on best practices for and evidence-based models 

19 of family caregiver support programs; 

20 ‘‘(2) provide timely information on policy and 

21 program updates relating to family caregivers; 

22 ‘‘(3) partner with related organizations to dis23 seminate practical strategies and tools to support 

24 families in their caregiving roles; 


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1 ‘‘(4) convene educational programs and web2 based seminars on family caregiver issues and pro3 gram development; and 

4 ‘‘(5) provide a comprehensive Internet website 

5 with a national searchable database on family care6 giver programs and resources in the States. 

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap8 propriated to carry out this section $12,000,000 for the 

9 period of fiscal years 2012 through 2015.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) Section 431(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 3033(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘or contract’’ the 

13 first place it appears and inserting ‘‘or contract (in14 cluding a cooperative agreement)’’. 

15 (2) Section 432(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 3033a(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and contracts’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘and contracts (including cooperative 

18 agreements)’’. 

Æ 


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