I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5238 

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

credit for the costs of certain infertility treatments, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2016 

Mr. LEWIS 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 income tax credit for the costs of certain infertility 

treatments, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Family Act of 2016’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The American Society of Reproductive Med8 icine recognizes infertility as a disease, and the Cen9 ters for Disease Control and Prevention have de10 scribed infertility as an emerging public health primstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with BILLS

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1 ority in the United States. Globally, the World 

2 Health Organization also formally recognizes infer3 tility as a disease. 

4 (2) According to the National Survey of Family 

5 Growth of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre6 vention, approximately 3,000,000 women in the 

7 United States had trouble conceiving or carrying a 

8 pregnancy to term. 

9 (3) A portion of those 3,000,000 women are 

10 cancer survivors who were diagnosed as infants, chil11 dren, or young adults. Their treatments included 

12 chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery which have led 

13 to irreparable damage to their reproductive systems. 

14 (4) Military families notably are also impacted 

15 by infertility as a result of lower extremity war inju16 ries arising from the perils of modern warfare. For 

17 active duty individuals, frequent changes in perma18 nent duty station, combat deployments, and training 

19 rotations complicate access to fertility treatments. In 

20 addition, active duty individuals or veterans have no 

21 coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) through their 

22 military health insurance and must pay out of pock23 et for those expenses, even within military treatment 

24 facilities. 

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1 (5) For many, the cost of treatment for the dis2 ease of infertility is prohibitive. According to the 

3 American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the 

4 cost per cycle of IVF is approximately $12,500, and 

5 on average couples require at least 2 cycles. Many 

6 couples have to choose between their desire to estab7 lish a family and their future financial well-being. 

8 (6) Medical insurance coverage for infertility 

9 treatments is sparse and inconsistent at the State 

10 level. Only 8 States have passed laws to require com11 prehensive infertility coverage, and under those 

12 State laws employer-sponsored plans are exempt; 

13 therefore, coverage for treatments such as IVF is 

14 limited. According to Mercer’s 2005 National Survey 

15 of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, IVF was vol16 untarily covered by 19 percent of large employer17 sponsored health plans and only 11 percent of small 

18 employer-sponsored health plans. Even in States 

19 with coverage mandates, out-of-pocket expenses for 

20 these treatments are significant. 

21 (7) According to the latest National Survey of 

22 Family Growth, African-American and Hispanic 

23 women are more likely to be infertile than Caucasian 

24 women, yet studies indicate that they are less likely 

25 to use infertility services. 

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1 SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INFERTILITY TREATMENTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub3 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 is amended by inserting before section 24 the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 23A. CREDIT FOR CERTAIN INFERTILITY TREAT7 MENTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli9 gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

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

11 amount equal to 50 percent of the qualified infertility 

12 treatment expenses paid or incurred during the taxable 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The amount of the 

16 credit under subsection (a) for any taxable year shall 

17 not exceed the excess (if any) of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the dollar amount in effect under sec19 tion 23(b)(1) for the taxable year, over 

20 ‘‘(B) the aggregate amount of the credits 

21 allowed under subsection (a) for all preceding 

22 taxable years. 

23 ‘‘(2) INCOME LIMITATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount otherwise 

25 allowable as a credit under subsection (a) for 

26 any taxable year (determined after the applicamstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with BILLS

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1 tion of paragraph (1) and without regard to 

2 this paragraph and subsection (c)) shall be re3 duced (but not below zero) by an amount which 

4 bears the same ratio to the amount so allowable 

5 as— 

6 ‘‘(i) the amount (if any) by which the 

7 taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds 

8 the dollar amount in effect under clause (i) 

9 of section 23(b)(2)(A); bears to 

10 ‘‘(ii) $40,000. 

11 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF ADJUSTED

12 GROSS INCOME.—For purposes of subparagraph 

13 (A), adjusted gross income shall be determined 

14 without regard to sections 911, 931, and 933. 

15 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be al17 lowed under subsection (a) for any expense for 

18 which a deduction or credit is taken under any 

19 other provision of this chapter. 

20 ‘‘(B) GRANTS.—No credit shall be allowed 

21 under subsection (a) for any expense to the ex22 tent that reimbursement or other funds in com23 pensation for such expense are received under 

24 any Federal, State, or local program. 

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1 ‘‘(C) INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT.—No 

2 credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for 

3 any expense to the extent that payment for 

4 such expense is made, or reimbursement for 

5 such expense is received, under any insurance 

6 policy. 

7 ‘‘(c) CARRYFORWARDS OF UNUSED CREDIT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) RULE FOR YEARS IN WHICH ALL PER9 SONAL CREDITS ALLOWED AGAINST REGULAR AND

10 ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX.—If the credit allow11 able under subsection (a) exceeds the limitation im12 posed by section 26(a)(2) for such taxable year re13 duced by the sum of the credits allowable under this 

14 subpart (other than this section), such excess shall 

15 be carried to the succeeding taxable year and added 

16 to the credit allowable under subsection (a) for such 

17 succeeding taxable year. 

18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No credit may be carried 

19 forward under this subsection to any taxable year 

20 after the 5th taxable year after the taxable year in 

21 which the credit arose. For purposes of the pre22 ceding sentence, credits shall be treated as used on 

23 a first-in, first-out basis. 

24 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED INFERTILITY TREATMENT EX25 PENSES.—For purposes of this section: 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified infer2 tility treatment expenses’ means amounts paid or in3 curred for the treatment of infertility via in vitro 

4 fertilization if such treatment is— 

5 ‘‘(A) provided by a licensed physician, li6 censed surgeon, or other licensed medical prac7 titioner, and 

8 ‘‘(B) administered with respect to a diag9 nosis of infertility by a physician licensed in the 

10 United States. 

11 ‘‘(2) TREATMENTS IN ADVANCE OF INFER12 TILITY ARISING FROM MEDICAL TREATMENTS.—In 

13 the case of expenses incurred in advance of a diag14 nosis of infertility for fertility preservation proce15 dures which are conducted prior to medical proce16 dures that, as determined by a physician licensed in 

17 the United States, may cause involuntary infertility 

18 or sterilization, such expenses shall be treated as 

19 qualified infertility treatment expenses— 

20 ‘‘(A) notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) without regard to whether a diagnosis 

23 of infertility subsequently results. 

24 Expenses for fertility preservation procedures in ad25 vance of a procedure designed to result in infertility 

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1 or sterilization shall not be treated as qualified infer2 tility treatment expenses. 

3 ‘‘(3) INFERTILITY.—The term ‘infertility’ 

4 means the inability to conceive or to carry a preg5 nancy to live birth, including iatrogenic infertility re6 sulting from medical treatments such as chemo7 therapy, radiation or surgery. Such term does not 

8 include infertility or sterilization resulting from a 

9 procedure designed for such purpose. 

10 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

11 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an indi12 vidual— 

13 ‘‘(1) who has been diagnosed with infertility by 

14 a physician licensed in the United States, or 

15 ‘‘(2) with respect to whom a physician licensed 

16 in the United States has made the determination de17 scribed in subsection (d)(2). 

18 ‘‘(f) MARRIED COUPLES MUST FILE JOINT RE19 TURNS.—Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2), (3), 

20 and (4) of section 21(e) shall apply for purposes of this 

21 section.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) The table of sections for subpart A of part 

24 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before 

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1 the item relating to section 24 the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘Sec. 23A. Credit for certain infertility treatments.’’. 

3 (2) Section 23(c)(1) of such Code is amended 

4 by striking ‘‘25D’’ and inserting ‘‘23A, 25D,’’. 

5 (3) Section 25(e)(1)(C) of such Code is amend6 ed by inserting ‘‘23A,’’ before ‘‘25D,’’. 

7 (4) Section 25D(c) of such Code is amended by 

8 inserting ‘‘and section 23A’’ after ‘‘other than this 

9 section’’. 

10 (5) Section 1400C(d) of such Code is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘section 25D’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 

12 23A and 25D’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2016. 

Æ 

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