I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5491 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a refundable credit 

for taxpayers with long-term care needs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 9, 2010 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself and Mr. PLATTS) 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 

a refundable credit for taxpayers with long-term care needs. 

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 ‘‘Caregiver Tax Relief 

5 Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS WITH LONG-TERM CARE 

7 NEEDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986 (relating to refundable personal credits) is amended 

2 by inserting after section 36C the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 36D. CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS WITH LONG-TERM 

4 CARE NEEDS. 

5 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a 

7 credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for 

8 the taxable year an amount equal to the applicable 

9 credit amount multiplied by the number of applica10 ble individuals with respect to whom the taxpayer is 

11 an eligible caregiver for the taxable year. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE CREDIT AMOUNT.—For pur13 poses of paragraph (1), the applicable credit amount 

14 shall be $2,500. 

15 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN16 COME.— 

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

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

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

20 thereof) by which the taxpayer’s modified adjusted 

21 gross income exceeds the threshold amount. For 

22 purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘modi23 fied adjusted gross income’ means adjusted gross in24 come increased by any amount excluded from gross 

25 income under section 911, 931, or 933. 


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1 ‘‘(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

2 paragraph (1), the term ‘threshold amount’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) $150,000 in the case of a joint re4 turn, and 

5 ‘‘(B) $75,000 in any other case. 

6 ‘‘(3) INDEXING.—In the case of any taxable 

7 year beginning in a calendar year after 2011, each 

8 dollar amount contained in paragraph (2) shall be 

9 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 

10 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the medical care cost adjustment de12 termined under section 213(d)(10)(B)(ii) for 

13 the calendar year in which the taxable year be14 gins, determined by substituting ‘2008’ for 

15 ‘1996’ in subclause (II) thereof. If any increase 

16 determined under the preceding sentence is not 

17 a multiple of $50, such increase shall be round18 ed to the next lowest multiple of $50. 

19 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 

22 individual’ means, with respect to any taxable 

23 year, any individual who has been certified, be24 fore the due date for filing the return of tax for 

25 the taxable year (without extensions), by a phyVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5491.IH H5491

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1 sician (as defined in section 1861(r)(1) of the 

2 Social Security Act) as being an individual with 

3 long-term care needs described in subparagraph 

4 (B) for a period— 

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

6 days, and 

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

8 the taxable year. 

9 Such term shall not include any individual oth10 erwise meeting the requirements of the preceding sentence unless within the 391 11 ⁄2 month 

12 period ending on such due date (or such other 

13 period as the Secretary prescribes) a physician 

14 (as so defined) has certified that such indi15 vidual meets such requirements. 

16 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WITH LONG-TERM CARE

17 NEEDS.—An individual is described in this sub18 paragraph if the individual meets any of the fol19 lowing requirements: 

20 ‘‘(i) The individual is at least 18 years 

21 of age and— 

22 ‘‘(I) is unable to perform (with23 out substantial assistance from an24 other individual) at least 3 activities 

25 of daily living (as defined in section 


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1 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due to a loss of 

2 functional capacity, or 

3 ‘‘(II) requires substantial super4 vision to protect such individual from 

5 threats to health and safety due to se6 vere cognitive impairment and is un7 able to perform at least 1 activity of 

8 daily living (as so defined) or to the 

9 extent provided in regulations pre10 scribed by the Secretary (in consulta11 tion with the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services), is unable to engage 

13 in age appropriate activities. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The individual is at least 6 but 

15 not 18 years of age and— 

16 ‘‘(I) is unable to perform (with17 out substantial assistance from an18 other individual) at least 3 activities 

19 of daily living (as defined in section 

20 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due to a loss of 

21 functional capacity, 

22 ‘‘(II) requires substantial super23 vision to protect such individual from 

24 threats to health and safety due to se25 vere cognitive impairment and is unVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5491.IH H5491

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1 able to perform at least 1 activity of 

2 daily living (as so defined) or to the 

3 extent provided in regulations pre4 scribed by the Secretary (in consulta5 tion with the Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services), is unable to engage 

7 in age appropriate activities, 

8 ‘‘(III) has a level of disability 

9 similar to the level of disability de10 scribed in subclause (I) (as deter11 mined under regulations promulgated 

12 by the Secretary), or 

13 ‘‘(IV) has a complex medical con14 dition (as defined by the Secretary) 

15 that requires medical management 

16 and coordination of care. 

17 ‘‘(iii) The individual is at least 2 but 

18 not 6 years of age and— 

19 ‘‘(I) is unable due to a loss of 

20 functional capacity to perform (with21 out substantial assistance from an22 other individual) at least 2 of the fol23 lowing activities: eating, transferring, 

24 or mobility, 


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1 ‘‘(II) has a level of disability 

2 similar to the level of disability de3 scribed in subclause (I) (as deter4 mined under regulations promulgated 

5 by the Secretary), or 

6 ‘‘(III) has a complex medical con7 dition (as defined by the Secretary) 

8 that requires medical management 

9 and coordination of care. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The individual is under 2 years 

11 of age and— 

12 ‘‘(I) requires specific durable 

13 medical equipment by reason of a se14 vere health condition or requires a 

15 skilled practitioner trained to address 

16 the individual’s condition to be avail17 able if the individual’s parents or 

18 guardians are absent, 

19 ‘‘(II) has a level of disability 

20 similar to the level of disability de21 scribed in subclause (I) (as deter22 mined under regulations promulgated 

23 by the Secretary), or 

24 ‘‘(III) has a complex medical con25 dition (as defined by the Secretary) 


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1 that requires medical management 

2 and coordination of care. 

3 ‘‘(v) The individual has 5 or more 

4 chronic conditions (as defined in subpara5 graph (C)) and is unable to perform (with6 out substantial assistance from another in7 dividual) at least 1 activity of daily living 

8 (as so defined) due to a loss of functional 

9 capacity. 

10 ‘‘(C) CHRONIC CONDITION.—For purposes 

11 of this paragraph, the term ‘chronic condition’ 

12 means a condition that lasts for at least 6 con13 secutive months and requires ongoing medical 

14 care. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A taxpayer shall be 

17 treated as an eligible caregiver for any taxable 

18 year with respect to each of the following indi19 viduals: 

20 ‘‘(i) The taxpayer. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The taxpayer’s spouse. 

22 ‘‘(iii) An individual who is a quali23 fying child (as defined in section 152(c)) 

24 or a qualifying relative (as defined in sec25 tion 152(d)) with respect to whom the taxVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5491.IH H5491

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1 payer is allowed a deduction under section 

2 151(c) for the taxable year. 

3 ‘‘(iv) An individual who would be a 

4 qualifying relative described in clause (iii) 

5 for the taxable year if section 152(d)(1)(B) 

6 were applied by substituting for the exemp7 tion amount an amount equal to the sum 

8 of the exemption amount, the standard de9 duction under section 63(c)(2)(C), and any 

10 additional standard deduction under sec11 tion 63(c)(3) which would be applicable to 

12 the individual if clause (iii) applied. 

13 ‘‘(v) An individual who would be a 

14 qualifying relative described in clause (iii) 

15 for the taxable year if— 

16 ‘‘(I) the requirements of clause 

17 (iv) are met with respect to the indi18 vidual; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the requirements of sub20 paragraph (B) are met with respect to 

21 the individual in lieu of the support 

22 test of section 152(d)(1)(C). 

23 ‘‘(B) RESIDENCY TEST.—The require24 ments of this subparagraph are met if an indiVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5491.IH H5491

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1 vidual has as his principal place of abode the 

2 home of the taxpayer and— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 

4 is an ancestor or descendant of the tax5 payer or the taxpayer’s spouse, is a mem6 ber of the taxpayer’s household for over 

7 half the taxable year, or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other indi9 vidual, is a member of the taxpayer’s 

10 household for the entire taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULES WHERE MORE THAN

12 1 ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If more than 1 in14 dividual is an eligible caregiver with re15 spect to the same applicable individual for 

16 taxable years ending with or within the 

17 same calendar year, a taxpayer shall be 

18 treated as the eligible caregiver if each 

19 such individual (other than the taxpayer) 

20 files a written declaration (in such form 

21 and manner as the Secretary may pre22 scribe) that such individual will not claim 

23 such applicable individual for the credit 

24 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NO AGREEMENT.—If each indi2 vidual required under clause (i) to file a 

3 written declaration under clause (i) does 

4 not do so, the individual with the highest 

5 modified adjusted gross income (as defined 

6 in section 32(c)(5) (as in effect on the day 

7 before the enactment of the Economic 

8 Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act 

9 of 2001)) shall be treated as the eligible 

10 caregiver. 

11 ‘‘(iii) MARRIED INDIVIDUALS FILING

12 SEPARATELY.—In the case of married indi13 viduals filing separately, the determination 

14 under this subparagraph as to whether the 

15 husband or wife is the eligible caregiver 

16 shall be made under the rules of clause (ii) 

17 (whether or not one of them has filed a 

18 written declaration under clause (i)). 

19 ‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No credit 

20 shall be allowed under this section to a taxpayer with re21 spect to any applicable individual unless the taxpayer in22 cludes the name and taxpayer identification number of 

23 such individual, and the identification number of the phy24 sician certifying such individual, on the return of tax for 

25 the taxable year. 


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1 ‘‘(e) TAXABLE YEAR MUST BE FULL TAXABLE

2 YEAR.—Except in the case of a taxable year closed by rea3 son of the death of the taxpayer, no credit shall be allow4 able under this section in the case of a taxable year cov5 ering a period of less than 12 months. 

6 ‘‘(f) CITIZENS OR NATIONALS OF OTHER COUN7 TRIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘applicable indi9 vidual’ and ‘eligible caregiver’ do not include an indi10 vidual who is not a citizen or national of the United 

11 States unless such individual is a resident alien (as 

12 defined in section 7702(b)). 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ADOPTED CHILD.—Para14 graph (1) shall not exclude any child of a taxpayer 

15 (within the meaning of section 152(f)(1)(B)) if— 

16 ‘‘(A) for the taxable year of the taxpayer, 

17 the child has the same principal place of abode 

18 as the taxpayer and is a member of the tax19 payer’s household, and 

20 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer is a citizen, national, or 

21 resident alien of the United States.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) Section 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amend24 ed by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph 

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1 graph (P) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by inserting 

2 after subparagraph (P) the following new subpara3 graph: 

4 ‘‘(Q) an omission of a correct TIN or phy5 sician identification required under section 

6 36D(d) (relating to credit for taxpayers with 

7 long-term care needs) to be included on a re8 turn.’’. 

9 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

10 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

11 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec12 tion 36C the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 36D. Credit for taxpayers with long-term care needs.’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2010. 

Æ 


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