II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1443 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a nonrefundable 

credit for working family caregivers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. WARREN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KING, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. COONS) 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 

a nonrefundable credit for working family caregivers. 

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 ‘‘Credit for Caring Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25D the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 25E. WORKING FAMILY CAREGIVERS. 

4 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli5 gible caregiver, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

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

7 amount equal to 30 percent of the qualified expenses paid 

8 by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the extent that 

9 such expenses exceed $2,000. 

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount allowed as a 

12 credit under subsection (a) for the taxable year shall 

13 not exceed $3,000. 

14 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—In the 

15 case of any taxable year beginning after 2019, the 

16 dollar amount contained in paragraph (1) shall be 

17 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 

18 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 

19 ‘‘(B) the medical care cost adjustment de20 termined under section 213(d)(10)(B)(ii) for 

21 the calendar year in which the taxable year be22 gins, determined by substituting ‘2018’ for 

23 ‘1996’ in subclause (II) thereof. 


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1 If any increase determined under the preceding sen2 tence is not a multiple of $50, such increase shall 

3 be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50. 

4 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER.—For purposes of this 

5 section, the term ‘eligible caregiver’ means an individual 

6 who— 

7 ‘‘(1) during the taxable year pays or incurs 

8 qualified expenses in connection with providing care 

9 for a qualified care recipient, and 

10 ‘‘(2) has earned income (as defined in section 

11 32(c)(2)) for the taxable year in excess of $7,500. 

12 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT.—For purposes of 

13 this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified care re15 cipient’ means, with respect to any taxable year, any 

16 individual who— 

17 ‘‘(A) is the spouse of the eligible caregiver, 

18 or any other person who bears a relationship to 

19 the eligible caregiver described in any of sub20 paragraphs (A) through (H) of section 

21 152(d)(2), and 

22 ‘‘(B) has been certified, before the due 

23 date for filing the return of tax for the taxable 

24 year, by a licensed health care practitioner (as 

25 defined in section 7702B(c)(4)) as being an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:40 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1443.IS S1443

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1 dividual with long-term care needs described in 

2 paragraph (3) for a period— 

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

4 days, and 

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

6 the taxable year. 

7 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR MAKING CERTIFICATION.— 

8 Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(B), a certification 

9 shall not be treated as valid unless it is made within 

the 391 10 ⁄2-month period ending on such due date (or 

11 such other period as the Secretary prescribes). 

12 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALS WITH LONG-TERM CARE

13 NEEDS.—An individual is described in this para14 graph if the individual meets any of the following re15 quirements: 

16 ‘‘(A) The individual is at least 6 years of 

17 age and— 

18 ‘‘(i) is unable to perform (without 

19 substantial assistance from another indi20 vidual) at least 2 activities of daily living 

21 (as defined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) due 

22 to a loss of functional capacity, or 

23 ‘‘(ii) requires substantial supervision 

24 to protect such individual from threats to 

25 health and safety due to severe cognitive 


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1 impairment and is unable to perform, with2 out reminding or cuing assistance, at least 

3 1 activity of daily living (as so defined) or 

4 to the extent provided in regulations pre5 scribed by the Secretary (in consultation 

6 with the Secretary of Health and Human 

7 Services), is unable to engage in age ap8 propriate activities. 

9 ‘‘(B) The individual is at least 2 but not 

10 6 years of age and is unable due to a loss of 

11 functional capacity to perform (without sub12 stantial assistance from another individual) at 

13 least 2 of the following activities: eating, trans14 ferring, or mobility. 

15 ‘‘(C) The individual is under 2 years of age 

16 and requires specific durable medical equipment 

17 by reason of a severe health condition or re18 quires a skilled practitioner trained to address 

19 the individual’s condition to be available if the 

20 individual’s parents or guardians are absent. 

21 ‘‘(e) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—For purposes of this 

22 section— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), 

24 the term ‘qualified expenses’ means expenditures for 

25 goods, services, and supports that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) assist a qualified care recipient with 

2 accomplishing activities of daily living (as de3 fined in section 7702B(c)(2)(B)) and instru4 mental activities of daily living (as defined in 

5 section 1915(k)(6)(F) of the Social Security 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n(k)(6)(F))), and 

7 ‘‘(B) are provided solely for use by such 

8 qualified care recipient. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR OTHER TAX BENE10 FITS.—The amount of qualified expenses otherwise 

11 taken into account under paragraph (1) with respect 

12 to an individual shall be reduced by the sum of any 

13 amounts paid for the benefit of such individual for 

14 the taxable year which are— 

15 ‘‘(A) taken into account under section 21 

16 or 213, or 

17 ‘‘(B) excluded from gross income under 

18 section 129, 223(f), or 529A(c)(1)(B). 

19 ‘‘(3) GOODS, SERVICES, AND SUPPORTS.—For 

20 purposes of paragraph (1), goods, services, and sup21 ports (as defined by the Secretary) shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) human assistance, supervision, cuing 

23 and standby assistance, 

24 ‘‘(B) assistive technologies and devices (in25 cluding remote health monitoring), 


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1 ‘‘(C) environmental modifications (includ2 ing home modifications), 

3 ‘‘(D) health maintenance tasks (such as 

4 medication management), 

5 ‘‘(E) information, 

6 ‘‘(F) transportation of the qualified care 

7 recipient, 

8 ‘‘(G) nonhealth items (such as incontinence 

9 supplies), and 

10 ‘‘(H) coordination of and services for peo11 ple who live in their own home, a residential 

12 setting, or a nursing facility, as well as the cost 

13 of care in these or other locations. 

14 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED EXPENSES FOR ELIGIBLE

15 CAREGIVERS.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 

16 following shall be treated as qualified expenses if 

17 paid or incurred by an eligible caregiver: 

18 ‘‘(A) Expenditures for respite care for a 

19 qualified care recipient. 

20 ‘‘(B) Expenditures for counseling, support 

21 groups, or training relating to caring for a 

22 qualified care recipient. 

23 ‘‘(C) Lost wages for unpaid time off due to 

24 caring for a qualified care recipient as verified 

25 by an employer. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Travel costs of the eligible caregiver 

2 related to caring for a qualified care recipient. 

3 ‘‘(E) Expenditures for technologies, as de4 termined by the Secretary, that assist an eligi5 ble caregiver in providing care for a qualified 

6 care recipient. 

7 ‘‘(5) HUMAN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘human 

8 assistance’ includes the costs of a direct care worker. 

9 ‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—An expense shall not 

10 be taken into account under this section unless the 

11 eligible caregiver substantiates such expense under 

12 such regulations or guidance as the Secretary shall 

13 provide. 

14 ‘‘(7) MILEAGE RATE.—For purposes of this sec15 tion, the mileage rate for the use of a passenger 

16 automobile shall be the standard mileage rate used 

17 to calculate the deductible costs of operating an 

18 automobile for medical purposes. Such rate may be 

19 used in lieu of actual automobile-related travel ex20 penses. 

21 ‘‘(8) COORDINATION WITH ABLE ACCOUNTS.— 

22 Qualified expenses for a taxable year shall not in23 clude contributions to an ABLE account (as defined 

24 in section 529A). 


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1 ‘‘(f) PHASE OUT BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN2 COME.—For purposes of this section— 

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

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

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

6 thereof) by which the taxpayer’s modified adjusted 

7 gross income exceeds the threshold amount. 

8 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.— 

9 The term ‘modified adjusted gross income’ means 

10 adjusted gross income increased by any amount ex11 cluded from gross income under section 911, 931, or 

12 933. 

13 ‘‘(3) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—The term ‘thresh14 old amount’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) $150,000 in the case of a joint re16 turn, and 

17 ‘‘(B) $75,000 in any other case. 

18 ‘‘(4) INDEXING.—In the case of any taxable 

19 year beginning in a calendar year after 2019, each 

20 dollar amount contained in paragraph (3) shall be 

21 increased by an amount equal to the product of— 

22 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, and 

23 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter24 mined under section (1)(f)(3) for the calendar 

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1 stituting ‘calendar year 2018’ for ‘calendar year 

2 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof. 

3 ‘‘(5) ROUNDING RULE.—If any increase deter4 mined under paragraph (4) is not a multiple of $50, 

5 such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest 

6 multiple of $50. 

7 ‘‘(g) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE CAREGIVER

8 WITH CARE RECIPIENT (QUALIFIED CARE RECIPIENT) 

9 IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No credit shall be al10 lowed under this section to a taxpayer with respect to any 

11 qualified care recipient unless the taxpayer includes the 

12 name and taxpayer identification number of such indi13 vidual, and the identification number of the licensed health 

14 care practitioner certifying such individual, on the return 

15 of tax for the taxable year.’’. 

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

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

18 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat19 ing to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Working family caregivers.’’. 

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

21 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

22 December 31, 2018. 

Æ 


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