I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4233 
To allow a custodial parent a refundable credit for unpaid child support 
payments and to require a parent who is chronically delinquent in child 
support to include the amount of the unpaid obligation in gross income. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 4, 2005 
Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota (for himself and Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To allow a custodial parent a refundable credit for unpaid 
child support payments and to require a parent who 
is chronically delinquent in child support to include the 
amount of the unpaid obligation in gross income. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Support Enforce-
ment Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. NO EFFECT ON RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect—
(1) the right of an individual or State to receive 
any child support payment; or 
(2) the obligation of an individual to pay child 
support. 
SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR UNPAID CHILD SUP-
PORT PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes-
ignating section 36 as section 37 and inserting after sec-
tion 35 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36. UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a custodial parent 
who, as of the close of the taxable year, is owed child sup-
port, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 
imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount 
equal to the unpaid child support as of the close of the 
taxable year. 
‘‘(b) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—If any unpaid child 
support with respect to which a credit was allowed under 
subsection (a) is subsequently paid to the custodial parent, 
the amount of such payment shall not be included in the 
gross income of the custodial parent, nor shall it be al-
lowed as a deduction to the delinquent debtor. The delin-
quent debtor shall be neither required nor allowed to file
an amended return in any subsequent year to reflect the 
subsequent payment of unpaid child support. 
‘‘(c) IDENTICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying child shall not 
be taken into account under subsection (a) unless 
the taxpayer includes the name, age, and TIN of the 
qualifying child on the return of tax for the taxable 
year. 
‘‘(2) OTHER
METHODS.—The Secretary may 
prescribe other methods for providing the informa-
tion described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(d) INFORMATION RETURNS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No amount shall be allowed 
as a credit under subsection (a) for a taxable year 
unless the custodial parent completes Form 1099– 
CS (or such other form as the Secretary may pre-
scribe) and provides such form to the Secretary, and 
(if the address is known) to the delinquent debtor, 
within 45 days following the close of the taxable year 
for which the credit is claimed. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF FORM.—The Form 1099– 
CS (or such other form as the Secretary may pre-
scribe) shall contain—
‘‘(A) the total amount of child support 
owed (whether or not paid) for such taxable 
year, 
‘‘(B) the total amount of unpaid child sup-
port as of the last day of such taxable year, 
‘‘(C) the name, address (if known), and 
taxpayer identification number of the delin-
quent debtor, and 
‘‘(D) notice that the delinquent debtor is 
required to include such total amount of unpaid 
child support in gross income for the delinquent 
debtor’s taxable year which includes the last 
day of the custodial parent’s taxable year. 
‘‘(3) DEBTOR’S
ADDRESS
UNKNOWN.—If the 
delinquent debtor’s address is not known to the cus-
todial parent, the Form 1099–CS (or such other 
form as the Secretary may prescribe) shall indicate 
that fact. In such a case, the Secretary may send 
such notice if the address is available to the Sec-
retary, and the notice from the custodial parent to 
the delinquent debtor under subparagraph (A) shall 
not be required. 
‘‘(e) DETERMINATION
OF WHETHER CHILD SUP-
PORT IS PAID.—
‘‘(1) CHILD
SUPPORT
ENFORCEMENT
OFFICE 
RECORDS
AS
CONCLUSIVE
EVIDENCE
OF
PAY-
MENT.—Child support shall be treated as paid if 
such payment is recorded by the State office of child 
support enforcement in which the custodial parent is 
registered. 
‘‘(2) TIMELY MAILING AS TIMELY PAYMENT.— 
A payment received by the State office of child sup-
port enforcement in which the custodial parent is 
registered after the last day of the custodial parent’s 
taxable year shall be treated for the purpose of this 
section as paid on such day if the postmark date 
falls on or before such day. The rules of section 
7502(f) and regulations issued thereunder shall 
apply for purposes of this paragraph. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.—The term ‘un-
paid child support’ means child support that is pay-
able for months during a custodial parent’s taxable 
year and unpaid as of the last day of such taxable 
year, but only if such unpaid amount as of such day 
equals or exceeds one-half of the total amount of 
child support due to the custodial parent for such 
year.
‘‘(2) CHILD SUPPORT.—The term ‘child sup-
port’ means— 
‘‘(A) any periodic payment of a fixed 
amount, or 
‘‘(B) any payment of a medical education 
expense, insurance premium, or other similar 
item, 
which is required to be paid to a custodial parent by 
an individual under a support instrument for the 
support of any qualifying child of such individual. 
The term ‘child support’ does not include any 
amount which is described in section 408(a)(3) of 
the Social Security Act and which has been assigned 
to a State. 
‘‘(3) CUSTODIAL PARENT.—The term ‘custodial 
parent’ means an individual who is entitled to re-
ceive child support and who has registered with the 
appropriate State office of child support enforcement 
charged with implementing section 454 of the Social 
Security Act. 
‘‘(4) DELINQUENT DEBTOR.—The term ‘delin-
quent debtor’ means a taxpayer who owes unpaid 
child support to a custodial parent. 
‘‘(5) QUALIFYING
CHILD.— The term ‘quali-
fying child’ means a child of a custodial parent with
respect to whom a dependent deduction is allowable 
under section 151 for the taxable year (or would be 
so allowable but for section 152(e)(4)). 
‘‘(6) SUPPORT INSTRUMENT.—The term ‘sup-
port instrument’ means— 
‘‘(A) a decree of divorce or separate main-
tenance or a written instrument incident to 
such a decree, 
‘‘(B) a written separation agreement, or 
‘‘(C) a decree (not described in clause (i)) 
of a court or administrative agency requiring a 
parent to make payments for the support or 
maintenance of 1 or more children of such par-
ent.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting be-
fore the period ‘‘, or from section 36 of such Code’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 
IV of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by redesignating the item relating 
to section 36 as an item relating to section 37 and 
by inserting after the item relating to section 35 the 
following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36. Unpaid child support.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2005. 
SEC. 4. INCLUSION IN INCOME OF AMOUNT OF UNPAID 
CHILD SUPPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to discharge of indebtedness 
income) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(h) UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this chap-
ter, any unpaid child support of a delinquent debtor 
for any taxable year shall be treated as amounts in-
cludible in gross income of the delinquent debtor for 
the taxable year. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION
OF
WHETHER
CHILD 
SUPPORT IS UNPAID.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Child support shall be 
treated as paid if such payment is recorded by 
the State office of child support enforcement in 
which the custodial parent is registered. 
‘‘(B) TIMELY
MAILING
AS
TIMELY
PAY-
MENT.—A payment received by the State office 
of child support enforcement in which the cus-
todial parent is registered after the last day of
the custodial parent’s taxable year shall be 
treated for the purpose of this subsection as 
paid on such day if the postmark date falls on 
or before such day. The rules of section 7502(f) 
and regulations issued thereunder shall apply 
for purposes of this subparagraph. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 
subsection— 
‘‘(A) CHILD
SUPPORT.—The term ‘child 
support’ means— 
‘‘(i) any periodic payment of a fixed 
amount, or 
‘‘(ii) any payment of a medical edu-
cation expense, insurance premium, or 
other similar item, 
which is required to be paid to a custodial par-
ent by an individual under a support instru-
ment for the support of any qualifying child of 
such individual. ‘Child support’ does not include 
any amount which is described in section 
408(a)(3) of the Social Security Act and which 
has been assigned to a State. 
‘‘(B) CUSTODIAL PARENT.—The term ‘cus-
todial parent’ means an individual who is enti-
tled to receive child support and who has reg-
istered with the appropriate State office of child 
support enforcement charged with implementing 
section 454 of the Social Security Act. 
‘‘(C) DELINQUENT
DEBTOR.—The term 
‘delinquent debtor’ means a taxpayer who owes 
unpaid child support to a custodial parent. 
‘‘(D) QUALIFYING
CHILD.— The term 
‘qualifying child’ means a child of a custodial 
parent with respect to whom a dependent de-
duction is allowable under section 151 for the 
taxable year (or would be so allowable but for 
section 152(e)(4)). 
‘‘(E) SUPPORT
INSTRUMENT.—The term 
‘support instrument’ means— 
‘‘(i) a decree of divorce or separate 
maintenance or a written instrument inci-
dent to such a decree, 
‘‘(ii) a written separation agreement, 
or 
‘‘(iii) a decree (not described in clause 
(i)) of a court or administrative agency re-
quiring a parent to make payments for the 
support or maintenance of 1 or more chil-
dren of such parent.
‘‘(F) UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.—The term 
‘unpaid child support’ means child support that 
is payable for months during a custodial par-
ent’s taxable year and unpaid as of the last day 
of such taxable year, provided that such unpaid 
amount as of such day equals or exceeds one- 
half of the total amount of child support due to 
the custodial parent for such year. 
‘‘(4) COORDINATION
WITH
OTHER
LAWS.— 
Amounts treated as income by paragraph (1) shall 
not be treated as income by reason of paragraph (1) 
for the purposes of any provision of law which is not 
an internal revenue law.’’. 
SEC. 5. TAXPAYER INFORMATION REGARDING CHILD SUP-
PORT NOT BASIS FOR AUDIT. 
A discrepancy between the tax returns of a custodial 
parent and a delinquent debtor concerning whether a pay-
ment of child support has been made may not be used 
or relied upon by the Internal Revenue Service in any way 
in selecting an individual’s tax return for a general audit. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; IMPLEMENTATION. 
The amendments made by the Act shall apply to tax-
able years beginning after December 31, 2004. The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall publish Form 1099–CS (or 
such other form that may be prescribed to comply with
section 36(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 
added by this Act)) regulations, if any, that may be 
deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, 
not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
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