I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4132 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a uniform definition 

of child for purposes of the personal exemption, the dependent care 

credit, the child tax credit, the earned income credit, and the health 

insurance refundable credit, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2004 

Mr. HOUGHTON 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 uniform definition of child for purposes of the personal 

exemption, the dependent care credit, the child tax credit, 

the earned income credit, and the health insurance refundable credit, 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 ‘‘Child Definition Sim5 plification Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UNIFORM DEFINITION OF CHILD. 

7 (a) PERSONAL EXEMPTION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 151 of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating 

3 subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), 

4 respectively, and by inserting after subsection (b) 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL EXEMPTION FOR QUALIFYING

7 CHILDREN.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An exemption of the ex9 emption amount for each qualifying child. 

10 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CHILD.—For purposes of this 

11 section, the term ‘qualifying child’ means, with re12 spect to any taxpayer for any taxable year, an indi13 vidual— 

14 ‘‘(A) who bears a relationship to the tax15 payer described in paragraph (3), 

16 ‘‘(B) who has the same principal place of 

abode as the taxpayer for more than 1 17 ⁄2 of such 

18 taxable year, and 

19 ‘‘(C) who meets the age requirements of 

20 paragraph (4). 

21 An individual shall not be treated as failing to meet 

22 the requirements of subparagraph (B) by reason of 

23 time of birth or death or by reason of temporary ab24 sences or other circumstances specified in the regu25 lations prescribed by the Secretary. 
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1 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TEST.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para3 graph (2)(A), an individual bears a relationship 

4 to the taxpayer described in this paragraph if 

5 such individual is— 

6 ‘‘(i) a son, daughter, stepson, or step7 daughter of the taxpayer or a descendant 

8 of any such relative, 

9 ‘‘(ii) a brother, sister, stepbrother, or 

10 stepsister of the taxpayer or a descendant 

11 of any such relative, whom the taxpayer 

12 cares for as the taxpayer’s own child, or 

13 ‘‘(iii) an eligible foster child of the 

14 taxpayer. 

15 ‘‘(B) ADOPTED CHILD.—For purposes of 

16 subparagraph (A), a child who is legally adopt17 ed, or who is placed with the taxpayer by an 

18 authorized placement agency for adoption by 

19 the taxpayer, shall be treated as a child by 

20 blood. 

21 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE FOSTER CHILD.—For pur22 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘eligible 

23 foster child’ means an individual— 

24 ‘‘(i) who is placed with the taxpayer 

25 by an authorized placement agency or by 
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1 judgment, decree, or other order of any 

2 court of competent jurisdiction, and 

3 ‘‘(ii) whom the taxpayer cares for as 

4 the taxpayer’s own child. 

5 ‘‘(4) AGE REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

6 paragraph (2)(C), an individual meets the require7 ments of this paragraph if such individual— 

8 ‘‘(A) has not attained the age of 19 as of 

9 the close of the calendar year in which the tax10 able year of the taxpayer begins, 

11 ‘‘(B) is a student who has not attained the 

12 age of 24 as of the close of such calendar year, 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(C) is permanently and totally disabled 

15 (as defined in section 22(e)(3)) at any time 

16 during the taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) MARRIED DEPENDENTS.—An indi19 vidual shall not be a qualifying child of a tax20 payer if such individual makes a joint return 

21 with the individual’s spouse under section 6013 

22 for the taxable year beginning in the calendar 

23 year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer 

24 begins. 
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1 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WHO SUPPORT THEM2 SELVES.—An individual shall not be a quali3 fying child of a taxpayer if such individual pro4 vides over half of such individual’s own support 

5 for the calendar year in which the taxable year 

6 of the taxpayer begins. 

7 ‘‘(C) ONLY 1 EXEMPTION AMOUNT.—An 

8 individual who is a qualifying child of any tax9 payer shall not be treated as the dependent of 

10 any taxpayer for purposes of this part. 

11 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO 2 OR MORE

12 CLAIMING QUALIFYING CHILD.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 paragraph (7), if an individual would (but for 

15 this paragraph) be a qualifying child of 2 or 

16 more taxpayers for taxable years beginning in 

17 the same calendar year, such individual shall be 

18 treated as the qualifying child of the taxpayer 

19 who is— 

20 ‘‘(i) a parent of the individual, or 

21 ‘‘(ii) if none of such taxpayers is a 

22 parent of the individual, the taxpayer with 

23 the highest adjusted gross income for such 

24 taxable year. 
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1 ‘‘(B) PARENTS NOT FILING JOINT RE2 TURNS.—If an individual would (but for this 

3 paragraph) be a qualifying child of both parents 

4 of such individual and such parents do not file 

5 a joint return together, such child shall be 

6 treated as the qualifying child of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the parent with whom the child 

8 resided for the longest period during the 

9 taxable year, or 

10 ‘‘(ii) if the child resides with both par11 ents for the same length of time during 

12 such taxable year, the parent with the 

13 highest adjusted gross income. 

14 ‘‘(C) FOSTER CHILDREN.—For purposes of 

15 this paragraph, the taxpayer shall be treated as 

16 a parent of any eligible foster child who has the 

17 same principal place of abode as the taxpayer 

18 for more than one-half of such taxable year. 

19 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN PRE-2006 IN20 STRUMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para22 graph (6), a child who has parents who— 

23 ‘‘(i) are divorced or legally separated 

24 under a decree of divorce or separate 

25 maintenance, 
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1 ‘‘(ii) are separated under a written 

2 separation agreement, or 

3 ‘‘(iii) live apart at all times during the 

4 last 6 months of the calendar year, 

5 shall be treated as being the qualifying child of 

6 the noncustodial parent for a calendar year if 

7 the requirements of subparagraph (B) are met. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

9 subparagraph (A), the requirements of this sub10 paragraph are met if— 

11 ‘‘(i) such child would, but for this 

12 paragraph, be the qualifying child of the 

13 custodial parent, and 

14 ‘‘(ii) a qualified pre-2006 instrument 

15 between the parents is applicable to such 

16 child for the taxable year beginning in such 

17 calendar year. 

18 In the case of an agreement executed before 

19 January 1, 1985, the requirements of this sub20 paragraph are met only if, in addition to meet21 ing the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii), the 

22 noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for 

23 the support of such child during such calendar 

24 year. 
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1 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PRE-2006 INSTRUMENT.— 

2 For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

3 ‘qualified pre-2006 instrument’ means any writ4 ten declaration referred to in subsection (e)(2) 

5 (as in effect on the day before the date of the 

6 enactment of the Child Definition Simplification 

7 Act of 2004)— 

8 ‘‘(i) which is executed before January 

9 1, 2006, and 

10 ‘‘(ii) which is not modified on or after 

11 such date in a modification which expressly 

12 provides that this subsection shall not 

13 apply to such declaration. 

14 ‘‘(D) CUSTODIAL PARENT AND NONCUSTO15 DIAL PARENT.—For purposes of this sub16 section— 

17 ‘‘(i) CUSTODIAL PARENT.—The term 

18 ‘custodial parent’ means the parent with 

19 whom a child shared the same principal 

20 place of abode for the greater portion of 

21 the calendar year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) NONCUSTODIAL PARENT.—The 

23 term ‘noncustodial parent’ means the par24 ent who is not the custodial parent. 
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1 ‘‘(E) SPECIAL RULES FOR SUPPORT.—For 

2 purposes of this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(i) amounts expended for the support 

4 of a child or children shall be treated as 

5 received from the noncustodial parent to 

6 the extent that such parent provided 

7 amounts for such support, and 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the remarriage of 

9 a parent, support of a child received from 

10 the parent’s spouse shall be treated as re11 ceived from the parent.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (A) Section 152 of such Code is amended 

14 by striking subsection (e) (relating to support 

15 test in case of child of divorced parents, etc.). 

16 (B) Paragraph (6) of section 1(f) of such 

17 Code is amended— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

19 ‘‘151(d)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(e)(4)’’, 

20 and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (B) by striking 

22 ‘‘151(d)(3)(A)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘151(e)(3)(A)’’. 

24 (C) Paragraph (5) of section 21(e) of such 

25 Code is amended— 
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2) or (4) 

2 of section 152(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 151(c)(7)’’, and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 152(e)(1)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘section 151(c)(7)’’. 

6 (D) Sections 21(e)(6) and 129(c) of such 

7 Code are each amended— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘151(c)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘151(d)’’, and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘151(c)(3)’’ and in11 serting ‘‘151(d)(3)’’. 

12 (E) Sections 25B(c)(2)(B), 32(c)(3)(C)(ii), 

13 152(d)(2), and 2032A(c)(7)(D) of such Code 

14 are each amended by striking ‘‘151(c)(4)’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘151(d)(4)’’. 

16 (F) Sections 72(t)(7)(A)(iii) and 

17 132(h)(2)(B) of such Code are each amended 

18 by striking ‘‘151(c)(3)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘151(d)(3)’’. 

20 (G) Clause (i) of section 642(b)(2)(C) of 

21 such Code is amended— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘151(d)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘151(e)’’, and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘ 151(d)(3)(C)(iii)’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘ 151(e)(3)(C)(iii)’’. 
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1 (H) Paragraph (1) of section 3402(f) of 

2 such Code is amended— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

4 ‘‘151(d)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(e)(2)’’, 

5 and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

7 ‘‘151(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(d)’’. 

8 (I) Subparagraph (B) of section 

9 3402(r)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘151(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(e)’’. 

11 (J) Paragraph (1) of section 6012(a) of 

12 such Code is amended— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

14 ‘‘151(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(d)’’, and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (D)(ii)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘151(d)’’ and in17 serting ‘‘151(e)’’, and 

18 (II) by striking ‘‘151(d)(2)’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘151(e)(2)’’. 

20 (K) The last sentence of section 

21 6013(b)(3)(A) of such Code is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘151(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘151(e)’’. 

23 (L) Section 7703(b)(1) of such Code is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘151(c)(3)’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘151(c)(2)’’. 
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1 (b) APPLICATION OF UNIFORM DEFINITION TO DE2 PENDENT CARE CREDIT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(b)(1)(A) of such 

4 Code is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) a qualifying child of the taxpayer (as 

6 defined in section 151(c)) who has not attained 

7 age 13,’’. 

8 (2) REPEAL OF MAINTENANCE OF HOUSEHOLD

9 TEST.—Section 21(a)(1) of such Code is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘who maintains a household which in11 cludes as a member’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect to 

12 whom there are’’. 

13 (c) APPLICATION OF UNIFORM DEFINITION TO

14 CHILD TAX CREDIT.—Section 24(c)(1) of such Code is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying child’ 

17 means a qualifying child of the taxpayer (as defined 

18 in section 151(c)) who has not attained age 17 as 

19 of the close of the calendar year in which the taxable 

20 year of the taxpayer begins.’’. 

21 (d) APPLICATION OF UNIFORM DEFINITION TO

22 EARNED INCOME CREDIT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 

24 32(c) of such Code is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING CHILD.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying 

2 child’ means a qualifying child of the taxpayer 

3 (as defined in section 151(c)). 

4 ‘‘(B) PLACE OF ABODE.—For purposes of 

5 subparagraph (A), the requirements of section 

6 151(c)(2)(B) shall be met only if the principal 

7 place of abode is in the United States. 

8 ‘‘(C) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying child 

10 shall not be taken into account under sub11 section (b) unless the taxpayer includes the 

12 name, age, and TIN of the qualifying child 

13 on the return of tax for the taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(ii) OTHER METHODS.—The Sec15 retary may prescribe other methods for 

16 providing the information described in 

17 clause (i).’’. 

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (A) Section 32(c)(1) of such Code is 

20 amended by striking subparagraph (C) and by 

21 redesignating subparagraphs (D), (E), (F), and 

22 (G) as subparagraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F), 

23 respectively. 
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1 (B) Section 32(c)(4) of such Code is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘(3)(E)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘(3)(B)’’. 

4 (C) Section 32(m) of such Code is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘subsections (c)(1)(F)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘subsections (c)(1)(E)’’. 

7 (e) APPLICATION OF UNIFORM DEFINITION TO

8 CREDIT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS OF ELIGIBLE

9 INDIVIDUALS.—Section 35(d)(1)(B) of such Code is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) a qualifying child of the taxpayer (as 

12 defined in section 151(c)).’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2004. 

16 (g) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

18 Treasury shall issue regulations or other guidance defining 

19 place of abode and principal place of abode for purposes 

20 of sections 151(c), 21, 24, 32, and 35 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986, as amended by this section. 
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1 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF GOVERNMENT BENEFITS IN DETER2 MINING SUPPORT AND COST OF MAINTAIN3 ING HOUSEHOLD. 

4 (a) DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION.—Section 152 of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO TREATMENT OF

8 GOVERNMENT BENEFITS IN DETERMINING SUPPORT.— 

9 For purposes of this part, any means-tested benefits ob10 tained under programs described in section 6103(l)(7) or 

11 substantially similar government programs shall not be 

12 taken into account for purposes of determining— 

13 ‘‘(1) whether over half of the support of an in14 dividual for a calendar year is received from a tax15 payer, and 

16 ‘‘(2) whether over half of the cost of maintain17 ing a household is furnished by a taxpayer.’’. 

18 (b) DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT.—Section 21(e)(1) of 

19 such Code is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘Any means-tested benefits obtained under programs de21 scribed in section 6103(l)(7) or substantially similar gov22 ernment programs shall not be taken into account for pur23 poses of determining whether over half of the cost of main24 taining a household is furnished by the individual.’’. 
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1 (c) MARITAL STATUS.—Section 7703 of such Code 

2 (relating to determination of marital status) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO TREATMENT OF

5 GOVERNMENT BENEFITS IN DETERMINING COST OF

6 MAINTAINING HOUSEHOLD.—For purposes of subsection 

7 (b)(2), any means-tested benefits obtained under pro8 grams described in section 6103(l)(7) or substantially 

9 similar government programs shall not be taken into ac10 count for purposes of determining whether over half of the 

11 cost of maintaining a household is furnished by the indi12 vidual.’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 December 31, 2004. 

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